What are we doing ?

Thoughts stemming from a sermon at VBC in Sevenoaks on the 24^th October 2004.

In response to Elijah experiencing God talking to him (1.Kings 19.9-18) NOT in the Wind, nor in the Earthquake, nor the fire, BUT in the whisper (or if you like “in the 'quiet’ silence”) if we look around our planet are we not hearing the Lord in the Wind (Hurricanes across the US or Asia), or in the Earthquakes as recently in Japan, or even Germany just last month, or in the fires of the forests due to dryness or the casual cigarette thrown away... Are we coming to 'Seek His face' to hear that quiet silence, and what do we do upon hearing it ? Do we have the Time ?

Coming to the picture of the Wheatfield and the fence around it with several people standing at the gates or walking along the paths leading to the gates. I was wondering what they might be doing there, why were they stopping? Are they pondering on how to open the gate ? Do they not dare to step across the line before someone else might ? Non seem to appear to want to go into the field to harvest the wheat. Which brought to my mind that song "Another kind of famine" - just some words from the beginning of the song:

There's another kind of famine
you don't see it in their eyes
You don't see the people dying
You don't see the people cry

There's a hidden kind of hunger
see the victims all around,
they don't even know they're dying
they don't even make a sound ... ... ...

Are we as followers of Christ standing still at the gates, or have we opened them ? Are we working in the harvest or don’t we have the time to do so ? Recently I received an email from a close family (Roman Catholic) friend from Gibraltar ( and Catholics there are more verbose than some Christians in this country, as my father-in-law can vouch being the Minister of the small Evangelical church in Gibraltar) with two very poignant stories, one of which I felt very relevant to the above in that it was a poem on our lack of time:

I knelt to pray, but not for long
I had too much to do
and had to hurry to get along
for bills would soon be due.

So I knelt and said a hurried prayer
then jumped up off my knees
My christian duty was now done
my soul could rest that day at ease.

All day long I had no time to spread a word of cheer.
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
as they'd laugh at me I'd fear.
No time, no time, too much to do
that was my constant cry
No time to give to souls in need...
But at last, the time to die.

I went before the Lord with downcast eyes,
I came, I stood,
for in his hands God held a book,
it was the Book of Life.
God looked into this book and said:
"Your Name I cannot find.
I once was going to write it down ...
but never found the time."

I know we all have too much on our hands, even if it is also actual church related activities (and I guess especially 'my generation' - the 30's to 50's) but can we who call ourselves "Followers of Christ", who are supposedly His Ambassadors to Mankind, ignore that subtle whisper which has been heard in our church now for a good year - "Repent, Pray for Healing, and Go Out into the Neighbourhood and Give Testimony". And so I raise the challenge to you and to me to find the time to pray, to read His Word, to apply the Word on a daily basis. So that in the end we can face that ever-unanswered question to each one of us: "What are we doing here?"