Open Your Eyes

Open Your Eyes

John 4: 35-37

Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.

Jesus gives a very interesting command here “Open your eyes”. Does that mean that the eyes of the disciples were closed? The disciples were people who went with the crowd. They thought there are still four months for harvest based on the common world knowledge. But Jesus tells them “No, it’s now!”

God has called us to see things differently than what the common world sees. Are our eyes opened to the need? If not, the sooner we open the better will it be!

I was recently listening to an audio sermon by Keith Green. Keith Green quoted a text from Oswald J. Smith’s book ‘The Revival We Need’. Let me summarize the message I heard:

In the year 1933 there were 7000 churches in Canada. In a survey conducted, it was revealed that NOT EVEN ONE church had won a SINGLE soul for Christ during the entire year. Think about this… A full year has 52 weeks and if we assume just one sermon on one Sunday that would amount to around 35000 sermons! Think about the numerous efforts, time and offerings involved, yet none of them was beneficial in the sight of God. Clearly there is a problem here

• Either the problem is with the 7000 preachers or their sermons or both
• Or the problem is with God.

Remember that Peter gave a short and a simple sermon on the day of Pentecost and the Church was increased by 3000 on a single day.

It is hurting that the Church which is supposed to represent Christ to the world is today invisibly asleep. As Leonard Ravenhill rightly says, “In this grim hour when the world is sleeping in the dark, the church is sleeping in the light”

Is it not time to weep and wail and confess that with all our multi-million efforts we have failed to reproduce the revival of the early church? Is it not time to acknowledge that we’ve spent too much of our time and prayer on our personal needs, job, family and cared nothing for the world or things that Christ is concerned about?

It’s important that we don’t play with souls. If God has revealed himself to us it’s for a purpose. Come what may we need to fulfill the purpose of God’s calling.

God’s will for us is not to live a happy and carefree life but as Paul says in 1 Timothy 2: 1-3

"This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

It is God’s will that “ALL MEN MUST BE SAVED” and if we are not winning souls in our walk, we are clearly falling short of God’s will.

Let’s check this: how much of our praying time is spent with burden for souls? How much of our prayer life is about carrying God’s burden? If not at least half I sense there’s a serious question about our faith and salvation.

Salvation as I understand is not a one-way call. It has a promise and a command to be obeyed.

Let’s take a look at Matthew 11:28-30

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

It has a command “Take my yoke upon you”. Are we carrying the yoke?

Jesus said “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49).

What is our share in the Christ’s desire?

Today the world is fast skyrocketing to hell. But the Church seems to be least concerned. We are too self-satisfied. We feel content with all our soul-passionless efforts.

While the world is bleeding with pain, we as a Church who have access to the living God simply don’t care. Today the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is claiming souls by thousands. Have you ever heard of a prayer being offered for those dying in Iraq/Afghanistan? I have heard of none. We try to cover up our sterile situation with words as “God’s working mightily”, etc but in fact the living God is “wounded in the house of his friends” (Zechariah 13:6) .

Many times when we hear these kinds of thoughts we feel an emotional pain and are challenged to take some decision. But there’s a difference with God. In the Bible God is not a man that he has to change his decision. If God hurts, he really hurts; if he weeps he really weeps. God’s pain is not emotional but real. It is imperative that we understand the heart of God. Jesus said “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27). Have we taken time to listen to God’s heartbeat?

What do we lack today? Do we lack finances? Or do we lack people? Or do we lack time? I believe the greatest thing we lack today is vision and passion. We lack the hungriness for true soul-shaking revival.It’s true that we cannot do anything without God’s help but if we don’t have passion or vision there is nothing that God can do anything through us too.

Today the world is drifting away from God’s sight, and the reason is not with television or communism or whatever. The reason is with us - the Church! Let’s pray that true revival will first shake us (me, you and every individual), then the Church and then the nation!

Oh Lord, there's just so much to be done.
Oh Lord, so many souls to be won,
Oh Lord, this world is falling apart,
Dying for love from a broken heart.

Here am I, send me, though there's
really not that much I can do.
What I have seems so small,
but I want to give it all to you.

Oh Lord, you said the harvest was great,
But Lord, looks like the workers are late.
It's getting hard to understand,
How they ignore your great command.

Here am I, send me, though you said
the ones who labor are few,
Still my heart hears the call,
and I wanna give it all to you.

Oh, to reach the ones nobody does,
Give up my pride and even work in the mud,
I wanna be like those who spilled their blood,
And gave it like water to you.

- Keith Green