The Harvest and the Laborer

Matthew 9:35-38 “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.””

What is the harvest? Well you know what a harvest of crops are, but this harvest is something quite different, yet with the same elements. This is talking of the harvest of souls. When you plant a seed in the ground, and it is watered, it grows. It hits the sunlight, it begins to soak in vitamins, and it grows exponentially. As it grows, it begins to produce a fruit, its own seeds. When the fruits or vegetables are fully ripe, when the seeds are mature and ready, then they are picked and eaten. You see it in apples, corn, peaches, wheat, watermelons, pumpkins. Every plant that reproduces.

— Spiritually, the gospel is delivered to people who are not yet saved. They hear it, and it sinks deep into their conscious. Now there are 3 outcomes here. 3 kinds of people, with 3 kinds of return.

>Sometimes when a person hears the gospel, they don’t fully understand it, so they walk away with questions. Along the way evil slips in and robs someone of their knowledge and they slip back into darkness. We can see this in people who grew up under some influence of the gospel, but now they live a strange lifestyle contrary to the word of God.

>Sometimes a person hears the gospel and they love what it has to offer them. They accept it with gladness and joy, but then when troubles hit in life they forget about the gospel, throw it away, and falls back into darkness.

>Then there are some who hear the gospel, they understand it, but they want nothing to do with it. They desire their own desires and what the world has to offer above what God will offer them. They actively deny His calling.

>But then you have those who when the gospel is presented they understand, they receive the Lord’s offer, and they cherish it. These people are those that will be saved. They are those that are ripe for harvest because the gospel seed has taken full root and grown to maturity.

Picking Unripe Fruit—

Some people are just not ready to accept the gospel. They may have personal issues that they are working through, they may have traditions and teachings that they are not able to see past yet (as in other religions and ideas clashing with the gospel), this may be the first time they have been introduced to Christ and they are in a whirlwind of information. There are many reasons why a person may not be ready to accept the Lord yet, but pushing a person to make a decision for the Lord is dangerous because they can make a false profession, or they can deny it entirely and you will close them off to the gospel. You need to be witnessing to people, you need to be sowing seeds, but if the fruit is not ready, then do not try to pick it.

Who is and What Must a Laborer Do— A laborer is anyone who is saved by the power of the gospel. Anyone who calls themselves a child of God is called to be a laborer. Jesus has commissioned us all to share His gospel with those around us, so if you are saved, you are a laborer.

— A laborer plants seeds, and harvests the souls. This means that some times you are going to share the gospel, and it is going to go into their hearts, but it will not grow immediately. Sometimes you are going to come by and share a word with someone who already has a planted seed, and therefore you will be watering a seed that has already been placed. Then sometimes you will run into someone who has a seed that has been planted, watered, and is fully grown to maturity. These people are ready to give their lives to Christ and be saved, THE HARVEST!

What a laborer must do is this— They have to have compassion on those who are not saved. Think about this, guys. If you are saved you are set free from the eternal consequences of your sins. This means that you can live your life with a smile on your face, and joy in your heart because no matter what happens you are going to heaven when you die. Other people in the world are lost. The bitter people, the angry, the hateful, the rude. Many of these people are lost. (Now a saved person can show all of those attributes, but it is uncharacteristic of Christ and we should abstain from it.) But many of the people who hurt us or negatively effect us are lost. This means that they are doomed for hell when they die, and they have nothing to be happy about. View them as someone that you need to reach with the gospel. Share the love of Christ with these broken people.

Anything you do can have an eternal impact on someones soul. Even simply inviting them to church can make a world of difference. Be bring those people in. Bring your friends, bring your family, and make sure to bring yourself.

If you wanna know more about how to start these conversations with people, how to plant seeds, how to water, or how to harvest, come talk to me.