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!