10月16日 主命令之鑰

所以，你們當求莊稼的主打發工人出去收他的莊稼。（馬太福音9：38）

宣道的鑰匙在神手中，這鑰匙是禱告，不是工作，更不是今天一般人以為的“工作”，因為這些可能叫人逃避，不以神為中心。宣道的鑰匙不是一般常理、醫療、文化、教育，甚至不是佈道工作。鑰匙乃是禱告。“你們當求莊稼的主”依人來看，禱告是不切實際的，是無稽的；從常理角度來看，禱告是愚蠢的。

在主耶穌眼中，沒有國族，只有全世界。我們有多少人禱告時，沒有理會人，只專注於耶穌基督？因苦知罪而生的莊稼屬祂，這莊稼正是我們要求工人去收割的。四周熟透的莊稼等著收割，我們卻只顧從事許多忙碌的活動，一個也不收割，在虛耗精力的事工上浪費了主的時間。假如危難臨到你父親或兄弟，你會不會為主耶穌作收莊稼的人？“啊，我另有特別的事工要做！”沒有一個信徒有特別的事工要作，信徒被召歸於主，他不能高於主人，也不能指揮主人，自作主張。主並沒有召我們做什麼特別的工作，祂只召我們歸祂。“求莊稼的主”這樣，祂預備環境，打發你出去。

October 16 The Key To The Master's Orders

“Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:38

The key to the missionary problem is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer not work, that is, not work as the word is popularly understood to-day because that may mean the evasion of concentration on God. The key to the missionary problem is not the key of common sense, nor the medical key, nor the key of civilization or education or even evangelization. The key is prayer. “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest.” Naturally, prayer is not practical, it is absurd; we have to realize that prayer is stupid from the ordinary common-sense point of view.

There are no nations in Jesus Christ's outlook, but the world. How many of us pray with out respect of persons, and with respect to only one Person, Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced by distress and conviction of sin, and this is the harvest we have to pray that labourers may be thrust out to reap. We are taken up with active work while people all round are ripe to harvest, and we do not reap one of them, but waste our Lord's time in over-energized activities. Suppose the crisis comes in your father's life, in your brother’s life, are you there as a labourer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? “Oh, but I have a special work to do!” No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ's own, one who is not above his Master, one who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls to no special work: He calls to Himself. “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest,” and He will engineer circumstances and thrust you out.