The Workers are few

TOPIC: THE WORKERS ARE FEW 

TEXT: MATTHEW 9: 34-38 ; ROMANS 10: 11-15 

REV. TIMOTHY WONG 

18 AUGUST 2019 

During one coffee session with a friend/supporter in KK, Rev. Timothy had a conversation with this supporter’s friend, who is a pre believer. As they got into conversation, Rev. Timothy asked this pre believer what he did for a living. The pre believer replied that he holds a job that is so unappealing that most people would shun taking it. It turns out he was a tomb maker. When he heard that Rev. Timothy is a missionary in another country, he exclaimed: ”I thought my job is unappealing but yours is even more unappealing!” 

Why is missionary work unappealing to most Christians? It was a command given by Jesus more than 2000 years ago and today, even after all the years this calling is still shunned by many. In Matthew 9:34-38, Jesus saw the crowd as “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” And he told his disciples “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest fields.” 

Trees bear fruits in their time and season and when the fruits are ripe for picking, the farmer cannot ask the fruit trees to delay the fruit ripening to another more appropriate time. Fruits not picked will eventually drop and rot, causing loss to the farmer. A farmer may not be able to pick all the fruits by himself if he has a lot of trees. He would need workers to help him to harvest the fruits. 

This analogy of fruit harvesting can be applied to the sending of missionaries (workers) to share the gospel with people in other lands (the harvest fields). 

I) Workers need to go The gospel was brought to China only about 200 years ago. Hudson Taylor was asked by one Chinese convert why his country kept the gospel for more than 1000 years before bringing it to China. We are believers today because years ago, someone left his comfort zone and the comfort of his home to bring the gospel to our forefathers. Are we keeping this gospel just to ourselves and within the church? Will we wait for another 1000 years before we are willing to go beyond our church to share the gospel with other people beyond our borders? The workers are few, but we still need some workers to go to reach out to others beyond our comfort zone. 

II) Workers need to be sent (Romans 10:11-15), Mission is not just an individual’s calling it is also the church’s calling. It is the responsibility of the church to send out missionaries. “How can they preach unless they are sent?” (verse 15a). There is a general attitude among some church leaders that the church should look after the harvest within their vicinity before venturing further afield to other countries. We should look after our own backyard first. Even in the early days, the church leaders in England objected to sending missionaries to the Far East, arguing that if God wanted the heathens to be Christians, He would be able to do so without any help. In the same way, some church leaders also objected to Basel mission to China. If the church had listened to these objections, would we be Christians today? The church needs to be visionary and look beyond its backyard. 

III) Workers need to be supported There are some workers who are willing to go, but they lack the support of their home church. They cannot find enough sponsors for them to go out to the field. Some missionaries had to return as the financial support was not enough for them to carry out their work. Missionaries are human and they face the same problems as other people. They need support and encouragement. Sending church need to keep in touch and continue to support their missionaries spiritually, emotionally and financially. 

Summary: 

Mission work takes many forms: It may involve preaching the gospel, social work, community development work, teaching, medical and health care but underlying all these is outreach work and teaching and training of believers. 

The 3 Ps of mission work: Pioneering work, Parenting of young churches and Partnership with local believers so that they are trained and equipped to continue the work when the missionaries leave the country. The church today needs to be challenged to think about sending missionaries, to pray for missionaries and to talk about mission work so that it would not be a calling shunned by Christians. 

Questions for discussion: 

1. Do you personally know of any missionary from your church? Where are they sent to and what type of mission are they involved in? 

2. Is mission work something you find unappealing? How the church in general and we as individual can be involved in mission work? 

3. What mission strategies should the church use in order that the mission work be impactful and sustained in the places where their missionaries are sent?