Just a few days ago on Pentecost we were reminded of the birth of the New Testament church.

With the outpouring of the holy spirit God fulfilled Jesus’ promise to His disciples. Jesus had told them that they would receive "power from on high" (Luke 24:49). Shortly before His ascension to heaven, just ten days before Pentecost, Jesus associated this power with the preaching of the gospel (Acts 1:6-8).

On the day of Pentecost the "cycle of the gospel" – as I like to call it – began. Men of faith preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. Through their preaching God works with people, and via a miracle the "spark of faith" is transferred to others. Those people begin to walk with God and call upon Him (Romans 10:13-17). That is also a brief summary of the "making of disciples" (Matthew 28:18-20). In Matthew 28, verses 18-20 we see the positive expectation that Jesus has concerning making disciples: His followers are to preach the gospel in faith, and the result will be people who are made disciples. The new disciples then become part of the church and are also part of the "cycle of the gospel."

Since the day of Pentecost in 31 AD this "cycle" is in effect. We as a church have the responsibility to preach the gospel. We continually ask ourselves how we should do this and how we should "package" our "products" (The Good News, booklets, internet etc.).

But let’s not forget one important aspect of this "cycle," as Jesus Himself mentions in Matthew 9, verses 37-38: "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (my emphasis).

When was the last time we prayed for more laborers for the harvest? How often do we pray about it?

With these thoughts I wish us all a rewarding Sabbath!