The Global Chinese Prayer Conference held by the Chinese Strategy Alliance (CSA) has successfully concluded. As Rev. Lambert Lee, CSA general secretary, talked about the harvest, he brought up "universal needs" and "critical needs", emphasizing that the workers of the field must take effective action, have a heart for cooperation, and must be people of prayer.
Critical Needs: Characteristics of the Workers
In the first lecture, CSA general secretary Rev. Lambert introduced two concepts: "universal needs" and "critical needs".
He explained: "The universal needs are very important, because men are in a pitiful condition. Presently, there are all kinds of afflictions and sufferings that trap people in darkness. They are people who need mercy, who need healers, teachers, and preachers." However, the Bible also brings up critical needs.
Critical needs are different from universal needs, in that critical needs are about special times and opportunities, the calling of a specially equipped person. This kind of worker is special, with special characteristics. They have the characteristics of universal needs, but they also have something else on top of that. Rev. Lambert additionally called for dicussion on how to ask for these special gifts, and seize the golden opportunities.
Collaboration and Prayer
Rev. Lambert believes: "The first important characteristic is to have calling and take effective action. This is the bare minimum, but at the same time it is the most important requirement." There are two key points here: the worker must hear, and then act immediately.
About collaboration, the field workers must be organized. You are not working alone. The harvest is not a one man job, but it needs the collaboration of two or three epeople, even of an entire church. Jesus teaches us to love one another, this love should show in the unity of our work, and we also need to organize and train new people.
Lastly, about prayer. Jesus said: "Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. (Matthew 9:28)" This means we must pray. How then are the people of prayer?
Rev. Lambert turns to Acts, which gives us a great example. In Acts 13, as the Anitoch Church was worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. (verse 2)" This was an organized action, not initiated from a single person, rather, Barnabas and Saul were sent through the collective effort of the entire Antioch Church. And although it was just the two of them, did they not have calling and action?
The church fasted and prayed, and they placed their hands of them and sent them off. They did not stop to say: "Let us pray to see if we have the funds or not" or "the current situation is not great, let us wait for when things get a little better and continue." They did not have any such thought, but went immediately. You can see the important characteristic of the workers here.
The Chinese Strategy Alliance's Global Chinese Prayer Conference was held in the Bay Area, California, from July 13-15, and streamed live worldwide. The theme was "Ask the Lord of the Harvest, Hear the Cry of the Harvest", taken from Matthew 9:35-38.
