Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-09-30

Golden Text: Freely We have re-
ceived; freely give.
On His first missionary tour
through Gallilee Jesus found hum
CRY hearts everywhere, and Ills
great heart was moved with com
passion for them, for He saw that
they were shepherdless sheep, sheep
that grew tired and weary in search
for food, and were scattered abroad.
Probably no figure could more ade
quately express the condition of
people like these; for what could
be more helpless than a flock of
sheep left to themselves entirely -
seek food and protection? Every
where He went He found the people
like this, for their leaders were
worse than useless, where they had
any leaders at ALL.
Jesus solution Of all problems
was prayer. So He said to His dis
ciples, changing the figure. THE
harvest truly is great, but the labor.
ers are few. Pray We therefore the
Lord of the harvest, that He would
! thrust fourth laborers into His har-
vest"
To appreciate the situation with
out doing something to relieve it is
dangerous to our own souls and
disastrous to the needs. But to do
something without praying is more
dangerous to the cause and disas-
trous to our souls. We cannot do
anything until we have prayed, fo.'
our resources are too limited in
Ifact, they are not sufficient for
ourselves, much less for any one
else. So prayer is the first consid-
hn I I'd rf hn Il
Awns the harvest, is to receive the
- enefits from the harvest, is keen
interested in the outcome of the
rvest, and can get the laborerS.
TNokore to pray to the Lord IF
T Rrvest is the first considera-
tioh, asking Him to thrust forth
the laborers needed into His-not
our-harvest.
After we have prayed, the small
est thing we do is of tremendous
import, for then He places His al
mighty power back of our impotence,
and He accomplishes through us
what we could never do ourselves.
The Prayers Thrust Forth
Now the significant fact is that
after Jesus had told His disciples
to pray the Lord of the harvest TO
thrust forth laborers-and of course
LuSv ulu DIS lie Sdlu-I16 CdllSu luSIh
to Him and sent them forth. 1t
would not have been honest-to-
goodness praying on their part I'M
. less they were willing to back UP
their prayers with their own lives
ii necessary. Just here is where
most praying fails. We pray for
missionaries to be sent forth, but
it is the other fellow who ought
to go. We pray for funds needed
to do the Lords work, and expect
the other man to give it. We are
deeply concerned for the salvation
of some lost one, friend or loved
one, and yet are dumb when there
comes opportunity to speak the
word in season that might turn their
hearts to God. We pray the Lord
+, to feed the hungry and clothe the
naked and comfort the mourner, ana
vet expect somebody else than our
selves to be used of Him.
That is not praying, it is hooking.
1t is a serious thing to pray, really
pray. 1t costs nothing less than all
you have. DO you want it that
much? If not, do not mock God by
asking Him for it.
These men prayed for laborers to
be sent forth; and God sent them
forth-but not until He had equip
ped them. They were insufficient;
but He was sufficient and equipped
them with power to do just what He
had been doing.
This was very necessary, for they
were just ordinary men. There
wasn't an unusual man among the
twelve Eleven of them were from
the hill country Of upper Palestine
and one of them from a village in
southern Palestine so small and in
significant that all we know about
il is the fact that he came from it.
At least four of them were fisher
men; two more We're from a small
fishing village on the lake; one a
once-despised tax collector who had
sold himself to the enemy govern
ment to be able to graft, to squeeze
out of his fellow country-men as
much as the traffic would carry. An
other one was so opposite to him
in his political affiliations, belonging
to the Zealots, that it is difficult to
see how they lived together without
Scrapping over past differences at
last. Just ordinary men like our
selves; sent forth; but equipped by
1 Him before He sent them forth!
He realized their limitations and
so sent them out in pairs. He
grouped opDosites: each of the two
was complementary to the other
Peter was impulsiVe. while Andrew
was very quiet James was older
and John the youth. Philip was
Doctor, Bartholomew a man of inn
mediate faith. Thomas had to be
shown; Matthew Immediately obey
ed. James of small stature, Thad
deus an object of admiration. Simon
tina Zealot, one who would risk his
/. lif&fpr cause; Judas Iscariot. one
W. DeEvould sacrifice a cause for a
be. These twelve Jesus sent
You can find yourself in one Of
these men. He delights to use just
ordinary men. He took these be-
cause they Were the best He could
find at that time, and sent them out
after He had supplied them with