God Is All About Multiplication
"Then He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.'" (Matthew 4:19 NKJV)
I believe we are preparing for a time of unforeseen harvest. However, when we talk of true revival and harvest, they rarely happen exactly as we expect or think. God's so much bigger than that, thankfully! But God does graciously allow us to see in part. And as I continue to prepare my heart before Him, and seek Him and His outpouring for harvest, one impression I get of the coming harvest is that "catch and release" will be both an important and multiplying factor.
Jesus is all about multiplication; the Father is all about multiplication—all the way back to the garden of Eden. And in the book of Acts, after Jesus ascended and the Holy Spirit was present on the earth, again we read one account after another about incredible multiplication.
Don't Stop at "Follow Me"
In today's day of social media, ministry platforms, and the like, I think we can tend to stop about halfway through the above verse. We stop at "follow Me." But the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all finish the sentence to make new followers into fishers of men.
This means that we don't necessarily get to keep the fish that we catch; rather, we're called to be ready to release them so that they too can GO and become fishers of men. We don't need more followers as much as we need more fishers of men. I don't think there's a "fishers of men" button on our social media accounts, because it is not about what such followers add to our personal ministries or churches, but what their purpose lived out will bring into the Kingdom.
One of the things I find interesting is that Jesus often did evangelism and discipleship at the same time. He didn't separate the two the same way that we do. He pulled the disciples out of the margins and, almost immediately, gave them vision for their own calling in the world, and how He was going to "send" them. Having such vision was an early part of the their call.
Often, we prepare for moves of God that are evangelistic in nature, and with good reason. We prepare for a harvest of new souls coming to Jesus. Other times, we emphasize seasons of discipleship, depth of teaching, preparation, modeling and equipping—all vitally needed. However, we often struggle with doing both at once. But if we are going to be prepared for the fullness of what God is offering, we must start to prepare for a great catch and a great release at the same time. (Photo via Pexels)
Walking Out Kingdom Truth in Tension
Walking in two different dynamics can be difficult for a people whose culture demands definition. But the Kingdom of God is in tension by nature. For example, in one sense we are called to honor our father and mother, while also, at times, being told to hate our father and mother in order to be His disciple (Exodus 20:12; Luke 14:26). Obviously, He doesn't literally mean hate, but to demonstrate where and in whom we are placing our trust.
In Hebrews chapter 6 verse 12, the Word talks about imitating "those who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (NKJV). It can be difficult enough to walk in faith or through seasons where patience is required, let alone walking in both at the same time. Yet, it's when we learn to embrace both at once that we best stand to inherit the promises of God the way those heroes of faith did.
In Habakkuk 2:2–3 we're encouraged to write the vision down as it is for an appointed time. We're told that it will tarry but to wait for it, for it will surely come! But then the passage continues to promise us that it will not tarry. This is not a contradiction; rather, it is that same tension of both patience and faith operating together at once to see the vision realized!
And most of all, we're told in John 4:23 to worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for those are the kinds of worshipers the Father is seeking. We have whole streams of the body built around the Spirit, and others built solely around the truth, yet it is those who embrace both together that the Father is truly seeking. What does this all tell us? The Kingdom is not a place of black and white understanding; rather, it is a tension of trusting God and His ways over our own. And it is in that same nature I urge us to prepare and plan for how to both catch and release at the same time.
Are You Prepared to Release the Ones God Gives You?
Are we ready for nets so full they almost break as was described in John 21? And when they don't break because of His grace, are we ready to steward and send disciples rather than have a boat or house full of lukewarm fish? Will we give them vision for their own purpose and calling right from the jump? Will we give away our power in order for them to walk in all that Jesus has made available for them?
I can't help but think of David and Samuel. David is among the most celebrated in the Bible, for good reason. So many parts of his example and so many of his words are profound. Yet I believe Samuel is among the most underrated in all the history of the Bible. He walked in the word of the Lord so young, even when a word from the Lord was rare. He saw David through God's eyes even when David's own family considered him as merely "the other one in the field."
Most of the time, it seems like we as the Church are more focused on trying to be like David. But right now, I believe and I urge that we are to be a Samuel. Instead of trying to conquer the world, let us find those whom the world has hidden. Instead of trying to focus only on fulfilling our potential, let us find those whose potential is buried and bring it out to shine Jesus' light! May we be more coach than quarterback. May we find many Davids hidden and silenced in the field, the ones whose light is waiting to come, for whom we can prepare the way. Would you rather be one David, or discover and send out an army of Davids? (Photo via Unsplash)
Focus Not on "Grow" but "GO"!
Part of this revival will be to see the young in faith multiply quickly. They will carry a testimony and the fingerprints of God that says, "Do it again, Lord!" When they are saved, will we merely put them in the flock, or will empowered discipleship and a vision for their calling become part of their born-again message? Will we stop at the fifty-yard line, or will we coach them early on to go the distance?
The world needs what this harvest will bring in. The harvest is not just for the Church to grow; it is for the Church to GO! To catch and release means we release our prize so that God can have His. To catch and release means we don't have to gather our own food, because our food is to do the will of the Father.
We are in preparation for a revival that will be marked by an uncommon, supernatural combination of both evangelism and discipleship, at the same time. Jesus says that the fields are white for harvest, but are we?
To see the fullness of harvest that Jesus has put before us, we need more than many great ministries or churches. We need a Church full of so many unlikely, young, diverse, discipled, empowered sent ones who each are going to reach those whom we likely would not. We cannot fully accomplish our great commission together without both the catch and the release of those who are about to come into the Kingdom.
We don't wait for the harvest. The harvest waits for us. Are we prepared?
"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'" (Matthew 9:37–38 NKJV)
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Joey LeTourneau
City Church | Freedom U | LeTourneau Creative
Email:Â joey@thefreedomu.org
Websites: letourneaucreative.com |
theFreedomU.org
Joey and Destiny LeTourneau are parents of eight and grandparents of two. They are visionaries and pioneers who have lived and traveled all over the world, helping transform communities, cultures, and nations by empowering people to discover and live out their unique, God-given purpose, and work with both established and emerging leaders. They have written a number of books and lead an organization called Freedom U, with bases in various parts of the world. They are blessed to work with City Church in Fresno, CA as part of the City Center and Fresno Mission, and have a creative company where they bring prophetic Kingdom messages to life to empower the next generation and their families.
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