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The eleventh-hour workers 3

 

By Adauto Rezende

 

 

At the conclusion of our study on last-day’s evangelism I would like to point out some factors about the workers of the eleventh hour and other essential questions related to world mission.

 

 

  • “Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’” Luke 14: 21

 

This small verse will answer some important questions concerning the matter.

 

1. How long will last the end-times harvest?

 

Luke 14: 21 – “Go out quickly…”

 

2. Where will the response to the call be greatest?

 

“In the streets and alleys of the towns and bring the poor…"

 

3. What kind of people will respond to the gospel?

 

“The poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.”

 

4. What type of evangelistic approach will be employed to accomplish the task?

 

Luke 14: 22-23 – “Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them (force them) come in….”

 

5. What will be the major characteristic of the workers of the last hour?

 

 “…and ordered his servant, Sir the servant said… Then the Master told his servant…" (Luke 14: 21-23

 

It must be a SERVANT! Not a showman or a mercenary.

 

The translation of the word servant (doulos) – Slave – That one who is not free

 

  • “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ…” (Rom 1: )

  • “Paul, a servant of God …” (Titus 1: 1)

  • “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1: 1)

  • “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.” (Ephesians. 3: 7)

 

There are essential truths in Jesus teaching, that we have to pay careful attention: 

 

“Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.” Luke 14: 23-24

 

The final harvest (evangelistic call) will be:

 

  1. Quickly

  2. Distant

  3. Poor soil

  4. Compel

 

As I already mentioned in part I and II, in less than five decades (quickly) millions of people from distant lands, under the power of Communism and all forms of paganism (poor soil), heard the gospel by thousands of missionaries full of the Spirit of God, witnessing like the first-century church, with signs, miracle and wonders (compel).

 

A parallel of the technological revolution in agriculture with God’s harvest

 

Comparing current farming with one century ago, where cultivation was done without any agricultural equipment and laboring in the country was plenty. In modern times, powered machinery has replaced many farm jobs formerly carried out by manual labor or by working animals such as oxen, horses and mules. The entire history of agriculture contains many examples of the use of tools, such as the hoe and the plough. The ongoing integration of machines since the Industrial Revolution, however, has allowed farming to become much less labor-intensive.

Current mechanized agriculture includes the use of tractors, trucks, combine harvesters, countless types of farm implements, airplanes and helicopters (for aerial application), and other vehicles.

 

Technology and the last harvest on earth

 

Computers, Internet, Printing Press, transportation, Satellite, TV,...

 

Technology has been a great ally for missionaries in the world. From airplanes to the world web-wide, the task has been done at a pace never seen before. In order to accomplish the four challenges of the last harvest that the eleventh-hour workers had received from the Lord:

 

1. Technological tools to go quickly and in distant places:

 

THE BIBLE: The most printed book in the world

 

2005 – 4 billion (since the Bible was printed) 550 years (Vulgate, Gutenberg) end of 1950 2 billion. 

2285 languages – Whole and part available.

Wycliffe Bible Translators (570 new testament – working 1200 new languages)

Scripture distribution in 2004: 3,307,136

Between 1990 and 1999, the Bible or part of the Bible was published in 246 languages for the first time.

 

LITERATURE: (SGM, The Bible League, The Gideon’s, Pocket Testament League, etc.)

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  • Every home for Christ has systematically distributed 2 billion multi-page gospel messages globally, each with a decision card, in the language spoken by 95% of the world’s population.

  • Illiterate people are reached with an audio message and the blind are provided messages prepared in Braille.

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JESUS MOVIE:

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  • It had been translated in 300 languages, watched by more than 1 billion people.

 

AUDIO MINISTRIES:

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  • Global Recordings Network More – 1997 GRN succeeded in preparing a gospel message in their 5000th language. Galcom and Faith comes by hearing

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RADIO:

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  • Justin Long (Global Evangelization Movement) “Around 3 million people come to faith in Christ as a result of radio and TV broadcasting.

  • Over 99.5% of the world’s population would have the potential to hear the gospel in a language they could understand.

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SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS:

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  • More than 40 million people hear the gospel in India through a satellite TV.

  • Poverty is no longer necessarily a major factor in accessing high technology communications.

  • In China, 9 million Bibles were distributed in the country in the past 2 years. Even the government is printing the Bible.

  

2. Empowered by the Holy Spirit to see the harvest in poor soil and to compel the second and third groups to come.

  

  • “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Acts 2: 17-21

  

Evangelists and missionaries around the world in the last two decades have seen uncountable miracles, signs and wonders as never before. In Latin America, Christians and non-Christians have witnessed the power of God routinely in churches, street corners, homes and prisons. I personally saw in Brazil hundreds delivered from demonic possession, including my own family. I faced death twice and the Lord healed me from a massive heart attack and a deadly thrombosis.

Recently, on a trip to Pakistan, I witnessed the healing of a nine-year-old cripple boy, of two Muslim women from the sciatic nerve, two others were healed of gastritis and a woman barren for eight years got pregnant.

In Africa, Asia and in the middle-east nations the Lord is healing the blind, lames, cripples and raising the dead. It is the last harvest of the earth.

 

The eleventh-hour labor’s pay day

 

  • “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.” Matthew 20: 8-10

 

The last hour workers had gotten the same payment as all the others. Even though they worked only one hour, they had harvested more than all the others.

 

To God be the Glory!

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