Rev. Nicky Gumbel
9th January 2011

Our Lord Jesus started His ministry by preaching the gospel and healing the sick. Later on, He commissioned the disciples and sent them out to do the same thing. Further on, He commissions us to do the same. Between these two hallmarks of His ministry, are the verses of Mathew 9:35-38, the verses of Rapid Mobilization.

Our God has called each of us to reach out to others. Our understanding of what we need to do can be clarified by understanding Mathew 9:35-38 clearly.

• The need is urgent. Verse 36 of Mathew chapter 9 says “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” The term harassed means wearied, exhausted. The term helpless means thrown away, without purpose or direction. We must ask God to open our eyes to see the needs of people. Only God can make us see the real need. Sometimes the need is obvious and sometimes it is hidden. Even in a flourishing economy, people are dissatisfied. Only a relationship with God can satisfy. And God sees that the people were harassed, helpless and Godless, as sheep without a shepherd. The need is urgent.
• The motive is love. Verse 36 says “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them…” The word used here is the strongest word for love in the Greek language, as though emanating from deep inside of Him. God loves us and He has compassion on us all. Compassion means to ‘come alongside or to feel with’. His love is displayed in the cross. He loved us first, which enables us to love others (Romans 5:5). Often, we think that we are taking Jesus into prisons and places where we minister. But the fact is that we are only meeting Him there. Wherever there are people, God is already there. His love and compassion are already there.
• The trigger is prayer. Verse 38 says, “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” The only way this revival will take place, is if we ask God in prayer. In John 17, the Bible records our Lord Jesus’ prayer. The prayer culminates in a prayer for unity, for the people of God to be united. What unites us all is infinitely greater than what divides us.
• The potential is vast. Verse 37 says, “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” We are the workers. We are called not just to attend church, but also to minister unto our God in the way that God leads us – we need to give, to pray and to serve.

The center of power is shifting from the west to the east. This trend is seen in the economy, in the political sphere and also in the spiritual realm. If economic and political revival is not undergirded by spiritual revival, it will not last.The time has come for India to become what God has planned – a spiritual leader.