The Opportunity of the 11th Hour

After a week or so of technical difficulties with my laptop, so much so that I thought I had lost the entire book due to a malfunctioning HardDrive, I'm happy to announce that the Opportunity of the 11th Hour is now live on Amazon.  I'm really excited about this book- not necessarily because I wrote it, but rather because I felt the anointing of the Lord in writing it.  It will impact your life.  Guaranteed.  Everyone that has read it so far has had the same response: inspirational and life-changing!

The book is available on amazon.com at  http://amzn.com/B00G718AXK.  All proceeds go back into missions. 

Please help me get the word out about this book.  Download it. Read it. Write a review.  Recommend it to a friend or two.  Let's mobilize the people of God to seize the opportunity of the 11th Hour. 

Here is the foreword written by none other than Dr. Bill Kuert, my incredible father and spiritual mentor, just to give you a better feel for the direction of the rest of the book.  

"This book is a great source of encouragement for believers who are asking themselves the question, “Can one life really make a difference in terms of the advancement of God’s kingdom?” It is the story of how one young man has come to view his calling in Christ as a “history maker”. In the telling of his own life’s story the reader is taken on a journey that is cross cultural, biblically informed, full of personal challenges and difficulties, and referenced with quotations from yesterday’s and today’s spiritual giants. The vivid language, the metaphors, the up close and personal illustrations give the reader an authentic taste of missions as seen through the eyes of one who is passionate about missions.

If God’s narrative for our lives could be expressed: Divine Power + Divine Process = Divine Nature, then this book could be considered a running commentary dealing with each part of that expression. In its pages the reader will gain a better understanding of the nature of kingdom influence as well as being challenged to “Go out and do something impossible for Jesus” (Reinhard Bonnke). This book is a must read for those who would like to see their lives become all that God has destined for them.  By modeling the way the author invites his readers to join him on a life changing journey  whose destination is to become an 11th hour history maker."

Dr. Bill Kuert (D.Min, Ph.D) 

Professor of Christian Leadership

KAG EAST University

Nairobi, Kenya

The Opportunity of the 11th hour (conclusion of Chapter 1)

I will never forget my conversation with a dear woman in Tanzania.  She’s a South African Indian soundly converted from the deception of idol worship.  We were talking about the second coming of Christ.  Her words still burn in my heart: “Steve, the second coming doesn’t bring me much hope.”  We were standing in an upscale mall in Dar Es Salaam with many people milling about. 

“Why would you say that?” I asked in curiosity.  Her eyes welled up with tears as she began to cry.  “My brother doesn’t know the Lord yet! My mother is still bound by idol worship. And my daughter has wandered from the faith.”  She understood perfectly! Her family needs Christ before the darkness comes.   The harvest is a priority for her.  There is urgency in this hour.  Their eternal condition depends on our obedience in this moment.   

            She lives her life with a sense of urgency.  Many in the body of Christ have bought into the teaching that says, “Well, God is Sovereign and He will save whom He wants to save.”  It’s really an attractive thought: God’s sovereignty absolves me of personal responsibility. 

Several years ago I heard a story that shattered this misconception.  A group of Bible school students in an African nation went to a remote village to preach the Gospel.  It was the first time the village had heard the Good News. The response was tremendous. An elderly woman wept publicly as she received Christ.  After several minutes of weeping, one of the young men asked her why she was still crying.  Didn’t she understand that the Gospel was good news? 

The elderly woman nodded affirmatively. “Then why are you still crying?” responded the young man. 

She grabbed him by the hand and led him out of the village to a nearby tree.  In the shadow of the limbs, she pointed to a fresh pile of soil. 

“What is this?” he asked.

 “The fresh soil you see is my husband’s grave.  We buried him the day before you arrived.”  She continued, “The message you shared is, indeed, wonderful news! The best I’ve ever heard in fact.”

Then with fiery eyes she turned towards the young Bible college student and asked, “Why did you wait so long to bring the message? My husband would have received this Jesus too.”  Reinhard Bohnke puts it this way: “The good news is never good unless it gets there on time”.  

When William Carey the father of the modern missions movement heard the call of heaven an elderly Christian rebuked him.   “Young man, sit down; when God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid and mine.”  Fortunately, Carey refused to compromise heaven’s fiery appeal for the expediency of religiosity.

He knew that his obedience mattered to the purposes of heaven.  Urgency marked his life. He coined the phrase, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”   His response to heaven’s call opened the door for future generations to connect with heaven’s heartbeat of harvest among the nations.

Yes, this is the hour for mobilization.  I believe Christ is pleading for believers to engage our world with Kingdom purpose in order to see the final harvest brought in—human hearts radically transformed by the life-giving power of Jesus Christ.  The Lord is searching for more laborers to respond to this glorious endeavor. 

The 3^rd hour has passed.  The sixth hour is history.  The ninth hour is a vague memory.  It’s now the 11^th hour and He is looking for more 11^th hour people who will see and seize the opportunity before them. May God grip us with holy urgency in this critical hour.

The Opportunity of the 11th Hour (Pages 4-5)

The 11^th Hour

Can I suggest that the hour in which we live is an eleventh hour moment in the Kingdom of God?  God’s prophetic time clock is winding down.  Spiritual darkness is encroaching many places just as Jesus promised in John 9:4.  Yet, our Lord, the great harvest master sees the massive harvest still in the fields. The past twenty years has seen unprecedented harvest in various places.  Kenya is one such nation.

 When my parents first went to Kenya in 1977 the organization they served with had some four hundred churches.  Today this organization numbers some four thousand strong.  Hundreds of thousands have found Christ! Thousands of pastors have been trained. God is on the move.  Yet, could it be that this is just the beginning?  The harvest has been and will continue to be reaped, but I believe acceleration is coming.

            Jesus’ words in John 4:35 come to mind:  “Open your eyes and look at the fields. They are ripe for the harvest.” The idea is that it’s easy to look at the fields and think futuristically: One day… Sometime soon.  Jesus reminds us of the imperative of this moment.  A Samaritan woman has just had a radical encounter with the Messiah; but, this is nothing compared with the breakthrough that is about to come to the entire region.   Acceleration in a previously dark place is in the works.   Across the world the story is the same: the harvest is increasing in dimensions we have previously never known. 

Why? Simply because it’s the 11^th hour and there remains much work to be done.  It’s an hour unlike any other hour.  It’s an opportunity unlike any other opportunity.  We must be ready! We must act! We must capitalize on this Kingdom moment. 

            Christ’s second coming is soon—imminent in fact.  Whether that means another year or decade is irrelevant. In light of eternity, it’s insignificant.   Christ’s return will usher in unprecedented glory for the redeemed and horrendous judgment for an unrepentant world.  What is relevant is the interim period between now and the return of Christ, whenever that takes place. We are called to bring in the harvest.  Contrary to current Christian culture, this doesn’t mean going inward; it means going outward!

No Retreat and No Withdrawal

This isn’t an hour to withdraw, retreat, and consolidate as we wait for the Lord. It’s an hour for a compelling and expansive faith.  A faith that goes beyond the boundaries of our church walls, personal comforts, and traditional practices. This is the hour when the harvest is ready and waiting for harvesters to bring the Kingdom message that will liberate the captives of sin, satan, and self. The closer we see His return, the more intense our commitment to the harvest must become. 

Leonard Ravenhill left an indelible impact on my life through his books and tapes.  I remember hearing him say that “this period we are in now is a dressing room for eternity, that’s all it is.”  What was he saying? The call of God must not be ignored.  And it certainly must not be rejected.  The call must be embraced.  What we do with the short time we are given on this side of eternity determines our eternal reward.  The stakes are too high. 

The story of Jonah makes this abundantly clear to me.  Jonah decides he doesn’t want to participate.  He would rather head for Tarshish.  We have been taught that one person’s response to the call doesn’t really matter. I wish I could believe that.  Jonah’s experience tells me different.  Do you remember God’s response?  He doesn’t say, “No big deal Mr. Jonah, do whatever you want.”  Quite to the contrary, the story of Jonah is a story of God going to great trouble to get the attention of a distracted and disobedient prophet.  Jonah’s obedience had Kingdom repercussions connected to it!

Could this be a similar picture of what the owner of the vineyard is saying in Matthew 20 in the 11^th hour?  It really does matter! I need your participation.  We’ve been taught that we can live our lives for ourselves pursuing the Big Dream—personal comfort, financial security, and the pursuit of happiness. This is where many in the Body of Christ have checked out.  Christianity has become all about us:  our goals, our ambitions, our dreams, our desires, our purpose, our success, our passions, our vision, our plans, and our destiny.  It’s quite selfish and very inward focused. 

 What about God’s dream? What about His vision?  What about His heart? His agenda?  His passion? And His plan? 

He longs for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3.9).

He will have every tribe and tongue around His throne (Revelation 5:7).

He will be given the nations as an inheritance (Psalm 2:8).

He will receive the reward of His suffering (Isaiah 53:12).

His Gospel will be preached to all nations (Matthew 24:14).

            How will this ever happen?  Only when we hear the call of the 11^th hour!

The Opportunity of the 11th Hour (Pages 2-3)

After four such invitations, the owner decides to go back to town once more to recruit workers for his vineyard.  This time it’s the eleventh hour. The eleventh hour is the moment of unprecedented opportunity.  It’s the last call of the day.  Interestingly, he promises to pay each worker what is fair; this turns out to be the same amount as what he gives those who have labored the entire day. 

In Kenya, where I grew up, the sun sets on or near 6:00 PM everyday.  The variation throughout the year is usually less than half an hour.  In Swahili, just as in Aramaic, the language of the New Testament, 6:00 PM is known as the 12^th hour.  Once its 6:00 PM people understand that they only have minutes before the sun totally disappears and darkness engulfs the African horizon.   Traditionally, people don’t work past the 12^th hour- it’s too dark. Wild animals and burglars emerge. People scurry home to safety.   In Jesus’ time there would have been no electricity.  So when the sunlight disappeared it was time to call it a day. 

 In the parable, the vineyard owner sees that the day is nearing the 12^th hour.  Just one hour of daylight is left.  Yet, there is still work to be done in the vineyard. He knows that past the 12^th hour, there will be no more opportunity to participate in the harvest. So he recruits one last group of workers to bring in the crop.  In the11^th hour there is one more appeal.  One more call.  And one more summons.  I can almost hear him pleading with the men of that day and that town: “Go to my fields! There’s still work to be done, but time is of the essence.”

He is passionate.  The harvest has such great value.  The owner of the vineyard doesn’t want any of the valuable crop to be wasted! Now is the time.  He has been purposeful and intentional systematically recruiting laborers throughout the day.  Now, though, his voice is full of passion and energy.  His call reverberates with purpose.  

Across the globe, Jesus is calling to this generation to participate in His glorious plan of global redemption.  The unique aspect of a call is that there are really only three options:  it can be ignored, declined, or accepted.

When I was little we lived on a large college campus comprising 7 acres.  My brother and I would go play for hours with our friends.  The possibilities were endless: basketball, tennis, soccer, kick the can, capture the flag, badminton, chess, darts, army, bicycling, table tennis, etc…

Mom would call, “dinner time, Stephen, Adam, dinner time.”

 At 12 years old the last thing you want to do is eat dinner when you can be shooting imaginary bad guys or pretending to be the next big name in athletics.   We often chose to ignore the call.  We always knew we were in trouble when mom or dad came looking for us.

“Why didn’t you respond?” mom would always ask.

We often stretched the truth just a little pretending that we didn’t hear them. The solution to the problem was simple.  Dad bought a bell.  It was loud and could be heard distinctly. Everyone within a square mile knew when the Kuerts were having dinner!

Many in this hour have ignored the call of the King for years or even decades. They have been absorbed in their own pursuits and agendas.   I remember preaching in Warner, Oklahoma a few years ago.  A gentleman in his fifties came running to the altar after I concluded; he was weeping uncontrollably.

 After the service, he told me that in his late twenties God called him to full time ministry, but he decided he would be miserable in the will of God so he decided to join a motorcycle gang instead. This lifestyle lead him farther and farther away from the purpose on His life.  I will never forget his voice full of regret that night, “I’ve wasted my life.”

 Fortunately, the message for that dear brother and the message of this book is this: “There’s still time! The King is calling one more time.” It’s the 11^th hour.  And this call isn’t just for a few people in occupational ministry.  The call is for everyone who claims to be a believer, or is considering becoming one.  Jesus is mobilizing His people for the final harvest.   

The Opportunity of the 11th Hour (Page 1)

My new book, The Opportunity of the 11th Hour, will be coming out on Amazon in the next week or so.  It's an inspirational book for living our lives in such a way that we are able to  make the greatest possible impact for the Kingdom of God. The idea comes from Jesus' parable in Matthew 19 where the owner of the vineyard  goes out  to call laborers to help him bring in the harvest in the 11th hour.   It's full of personal anecdotes as well as considerable analysis of the life of Daniel.  I sincerely believe that this book will touch the heart and life of anyone who reads it. I will be posting several pages the next few days.  

Chapter 1: The Opportunity of the Closing Moment

“About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around.” Matthew 20:6

“It pleased Darius to appoint 120 governors to rule the kingdom with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel” Daniel 6:1-2

The final minute of a close game is always the most exciting.  You never quite know what is going to happen. Watching the World Cup game between Ghana and Uruguay in the 2010 first round of elimination was one of these moments.  I was living in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania at the time without a television.  Ghana had been adopted as the favorite team remaining in the tournament by just about everyone in Tanzania.  Excitement was high. 

             Normally the streets are crowded with people, motorcycles, and vehicles.  However, that night was different.  The streets were practically deserted as eager eyes sat glued to the closest television. As I drove to a friend’s house to catch the game a sense of expectation filled the humid coastal air.  Dar Es Salaam anticipated a Ghanian victory. It would be the first time an African team advanced to the quarterfinals of the prestigious tournament. Across Africa people cheered for Ghana.   

            When the Ghanians scored their first goal the entire city let out a shout that reverberated through the night sky. Hundreds of thousands of people were glued to the television anticipating a victory.  As the game neared a close it was tied.  Seconds remained.  Both teams fought hard.  Metaphorically speaking, it was the 11^th hour.  

Suddenly, everything changed.  Ghana took a quick shot that caught the goalkeeper off his line.  It seemed to be a sure goal as well as the ultimate game winner. Then the unthinkable happened.  The quick hand of a Uruguayan defender stopped the ball from crossing the line with just seconds remaining in the game.   The referee awarded a penalty as a continent held its breath.  It was the opportunity of a lifetime for the Ghanians. Unbelievably, the Ghanian forward Asamorah Gyan sent the ball sailing over the crossbar. 

            The game headed into overtime still tied. As the two teams moved into a penalty shoot-out to determine a winner the Ghanians choked.  Uruguay emerged the victors; Africa mourned.   Visions of glory were exchanged for woeful tears of regret. The Ghanians had missed their golden opportunity in the eleventh hour.  The moment had been wasted.

              Ghana’s experience reminds me of what Jesus says in Matthew 20:6-7. “And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You, go into the vineyard too”. 

   Jesus was telling a story.  Not just any story—it’s a Kingdom story.  This means that the story illustrates Kingdom truth.    Jesus says that a vineyard owner is looking for workers.  He goes to town to recruit anyone willing to go and work for him.  He goes the first hour, the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour.   Each time he finds more people to work in his vineyard.