“But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. … My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.” [Jhn 4:32, 34-38 KJV]

Listening to a Tim Keller exposition on this passage provoked a lot of thought for me. He was primarily unraveling the amazing one-on-one witness to the Samaritan woman at the well, but in passing he referred to what is quoted above as an example of the self-energizing nature of serving God. (I wish I could find that again to be more precise.)

Jesus appears to be telling the disciples who were entirely caught up with the next meal, that there is nourishment and sustenance in doing God’s work, which was “to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.”

Isn’t it interesting that our commission is so similar. When Jesus said, “It is finished” it was certainly true judicially, but in addition He came back to life to enliven us by His Spirit to accomplish temporally through us what had already been finished judicially. Only as we continue and finish the Kingdom business will God’s work be finished. Thus we labor in a transition zone where the work is both finished and unfinished. That should infuse authority with hope and joy.

Meanwhile there is the counter- intuitive affirmation that we will have both “water” and “meat” as we serve to “finish His work.” It is the wages that the reaper receives. It is the inner satisfaction and joy that “His work” brings. It is the return (hope) that is eternal in substance and non-erodible and definitely not wood, hay and stubble.

Jesus operated on this nourishment to such a degree that at one point His own family members tried to forcibly restrain Him because of His endless ministry to the multitude which deprived Him of both food and sleep.

I am challenged to consider whether too often we aren’t occupied with our next physical need, when Jesus’ example would suggest we should be finding our sustenance in the reaping process.

This gets very practical when it comes to appropriating funds. There are two mindsets when it comes to pouring out our resources. Jesus told of the mindset of the rich man whose answer was to build bigger barns to enjoy his security.

The Biblical mindset seems to be otherwise, and is analogous to empty vessels in at least three Bible stories. Those vessels were not supernaturally replenished until they were empty. If we are not willing to empty ourselves for the Kingdom we are not worthy of the kingdom, nor will we enjoy the “fountains of living water” and “meat” that should sustain us.

I will recklessly throw the last penny that this mission has (and that I have also) to reach the last tribe. I believe that this emptying mindset is Christ’s. I believe that is an emptiness that God will fill. It comes down to the principle that Hudson Taylor stated and I quote from GoodReads.com.

“Depend on it. God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. He is too wise a God to frustrate His purposes for lack of funds, and He can just as easily supply them ahead of time as afterwards, and He much prefers doing so.”

― Hudson Taylor

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,” [Rev 14:6 KJV]

God Bless,

Larry DeVilbiss | Executive Director

Global Recordings Network USA

If you are interested in learning how to share links on social media that will promote use of our recordings and the Gospel in general, please contact RolandHeck@GlobalRecordings.Net

Previous “The Next Language” posts

The Mountain Taker – Post 105

Give Me That Mountain – Post 104

Epicenter of Languages – Post 103

Holy Envy – Post 102

Watchman – Post 101

First the Blade – Post 100

Marghi – Post 99

Talents – Post 98

Berom – Post 97

God is my Wit(h)ness – Post 96

Scarlet Chested Sun Bird – Post 95

Fountains of Water – Post 94

A Glorious Landing – Post 93

Tale of Three Sisters – Post 92

Collaboration – Post 91

Pick Your Fears Carefully – Post 90

Mixteco del Progreso – Post 89

Go – Post 88

Those Word Lists – Post 87

Altars – Post 86

Oh, for a Thousand Tongues – Post 85

Voices in the Wilderness – Post 84

Nigeria – First Impressions – Post 83

From the Land of Nod – Post 82

Tribute to Mexico – 1967 – 2022 – Post 81

Miniaturization – Post 80

Knowing The Times – Post 79

God Comes to a Dirty World – Post 78

Corn in Mexico – Post 77

When the Church Says No – Post 76

War – Post 75

Theirs Is the Kingdom – Post 74

The Hippie Era Lives On – Post 73

Genesis of a Recording Set – Post 72

Back Tracking – Post 71

Witnesses- Post 70

Who Is Your Owner? – Post 69

An Unsolicited Endorsement – Post 68

Oral Tradition – Post 67

Works of  Man – Post 66

Deliverance – Post 65

New Discoveries – Post 64

The Wall of Pain – Post 63

Is There a Place for the Gospel in Your Story – Post 62

The Love Pyramid – Post 61

Obsession – Post 60

Verb Tenses in Hebrews – Post 59

The Unseen Weapon – Post 58

The Gospel Arrives in Zapoteco:Elotepec – Post 57

Fishing – GRN Style – Post 56

A New Day in Mexico – Post 55

Seeking – Post 54

Pick Your Battles – Post 53

How Big Is Your God? – Post 52

A Muted Gospel? – Post 51

Dedication Service for Marcos – Post 50

Two Weeks, Two Months, Two Years – Post 49

What Will You Give to Jesus – Post 48

Special Assignment – Post 47

The Good and the Best – Post 46

How Many Languages Are There? – Post 45

Verifying Speech Varieties – Post 44

Those God Things – Post 43

Meet Notch, the Desert Cottontail – Post 42

The Lost Languages – Post 41

The Rest of the Yoke – Post 40

What About Those Last Languages – Post 39

A Yoke That Fits – Post 38

The Other Side – Post 37

It Is Finished – Post 36

On the Ground in Culiacan – Post 35

I Will Go With Thee – Post 34

Unseen Warfare – Post 33

God of the Gaps – Post 32

The Father of Faith Missions – Post 31

WAIT – Post 30

Our Ultimate Weapon – Post 29

What Are You Doing Here – Post 28

Recordist Training Course Update – Post 27

Still Shameful – Post 26

Numbers Update – Post 25

The Gospel and Idolatry – Post 24

Could Ye Not Pray – Post 23

John the Baptist and the New Normal – Post 22

Genesis of a Script – Post 21

Embena Experiences – Post 20

An Easter Like No Other – Post 19

Go Or Stay Home – Post 18

The Next Language – Post 17

The Next Language – Post 16

The Next Language – Post 15

The Next Language – Post 14

The Next Language – Post 13

The Next Language – Post 12

The Next Language – Post 11

The Next Language – Post 10

The Next Language – Post 9

The Next Language – Post 8

The Next Language – Post 7

The Next Language – Post 6

The Next Language – Post 5

The Next Language – Post 4

The Next Language – Post 3

The Next Language – Post 2

The Next Language – Post 1