John (9)

Introduction: One of the interesting discoveries I observed from our time in Kenya last May, was the way in which they raised corn. We were in the mountainous region of Kapsowar, and the hillsides were very steep, so the local farmers used a terrace method of farming. Since the terrine was far too steep for a tractor, they would dig out by hand planting paths along the field, then plant their corn in those trails. While were were taking some walks I also noticed that they would plant beans with the corn. I asked one of the locals why she did it that way. There may have been several reasons but simply, that’s the way your supposed to do it. In order to gain the best yield or harvest, that's how you plant the seed.

When it comes to physical planting and harvesting , there are ways that you are supposed to do it. In the same way, when it comes to spiritual planting and harvesting, there are plain principles for how we are supposed to go about it. Today, we are going to discover from God’s word principles for the spiritual harvest.

Transition: We are revisiting a passage from John’s gospel in 4:31-38. We have already noted that the emphasis of this whole passage from 4:1-45 is revealing Jesus as the Messiah to not only the Jews, but also the Samaritans and those whom He will save from every tribe and language group. Now, before we launch into chapter 5 there are some unique truths about Jesus’ ministry to the whole world that we need to pay attention to. if we would be disciples who is follow Jesus into the harvest field, we must go about it His way. (Read the text)

Transition: The first thing we notice in this passage is Jesus’ own description of what brings Him satisfaction and nourishment. See verse 34…

Jesus is using a physical example of food and teaching His disciples a spiritual reality. he is saying that His nourishment, fulfillment, sustenance, satisfaction, rest, purpose, significance, contentment… his accomplishment is to “do the will of him who sent me .”Jesus fully understood that He had been sent from the Father to accomplish the will and work of the Father.

The word accomplish means that Jesus will complete the work. He will finish the work. He will thoroughly, entirely, and perfectly fulfill the the work of the Father. What was that work? Namely, it was the work of redemption. of Reconciliation. Of atonement. Certainly, that involved His ministry of teaching and miracles to identify Him as the Messiah. But the finished work was to be on the cross. That through His death and resurrection Jesus was completing the will of God by accomplishing the work in the place of sinners. Jesus accomplished the work that no sinner could ever accomplish. Jesus satisfied the wrath of God against the sin of His people. As II Corinthians 5:21 tells us…

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

After clearing up what it is that gives Him true satisfaction... Jesus goes on to instruct His disciples in the ways of the harvest. And so it is from His teaching we glean two major harvesting principles. First…

Be ready to reap and rejoice...

Ready: In Verse 35 Jesus asked His disciples a question. “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months until the harvest?” Jesus is saying, You think the time for harvest is not right. You think the fields are not ripe. With a 4 month germination period, it would seem ridiculous to try to harvest grain that is only planted yesterday. But Jesus is speaking of a different harvest. He says look, lift up your eyes, pay attention boys… see that the fields are white for harvest.

If the grain fields are white.. then it’s time to get busy harvesting because the grain will soon fall to the ground and perish if not gathered. Notice the context here, because while they were talking, the Samaritan woman had been witnessing. No doubt, if the disciples would look up from the town they had just returned from they would see many Samaritans coming out of the town.

The disciples were proving to have blurry vision. They were not ready for the harvest because they did not notice that it was ripe before them. They had purchased physical food from these people who were coming out the receive spiritual food.

Church, we need to be ready to accomplish the work of God because it is time for the harvest. This was true for Jesus disciples, and it has been true of the church for the last 2000 years. The time is now to proclaim the gospel. The season is upon us to fulfill the work of extending the gospel to the ends of the earth. There will be a time when our work is done. When Christ returns for his church. But now, we must be ready to work.

It is very easy for us to yield to the temptation of being satisfied with a different kind of food than doing the will and work of our Father. Often, we are more than ready and willing to give ourselves to the hard work of the American dream. We are ready to fill up our lives with the unsatisfying rewards of temporary accomplishments.

Are we poised with readiness to accomplish the work of an eternal harvest?

Listen to the words of this hymn....”

Work for the night is coming Work thro' the sunny noon Fill brightest hours with labor Rest comes sure and soon Give every flying minute Something to keep in store Work for the night is coming When man works no more

Keep in mind, Christians do not work in order to be made righteous. No, rather we work and accomplish the will of our Father because He has declared us righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. We have works to accomplish that He has prepared for us before He prepared the foundations of the world. Ephesians 2:10

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Is there something hindering your vision today? Are you lifting your eyes and seeing the ripened fields before you. Do we look at the people that God has placed in our lives with contempt and disdain? Do we see them as merely tools to get where you want to be. As a step to bring you satisfaction and fulfillment. Or as a piece of ripened grain that might be harvested for the glory of God.

Fellow laborers, we cannot yield to the temptation of, “It’s not the right time.” or.. someday Ill get to it. Maybe when I have more time. Maybe when I retire. No, the time is now. Church, we must see the people in our lives not a project that we might get around to one of these days, but as a ripened piece of grain that if not harvested will perish for eternity. God help us to be going to the harvest fields that He has placed us in with readiness.

Transition: We must be ready to reap.

Reaping: Notice in verse 36 that Jesus says, “Already, the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life.” Jesus is teaching His disciples that the real blessing and payoff of accomplishing the will of God is to gather the fruit of eternal life.

Church, one of our great problems is that we often forget or perhaps never fully understood that our salvation in Christ is not for the simple purpose of individual reward. No, we are saved and then sent into the harvest field for the glory of God. We belong to God through faith in Christ so that we might accomplish His will, His desires, His work.... not so for our own personal individual goals and aspirations. Being a harvester for Christ means that we have a different kind of reward.

The wages we receive as those who sow and reap, is the fruit of eternal life. Romans 6:20-23 help us better understand what this means.

Romans 6:20–23 ESV

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The great reward of our reaping is not to show how great we are at evangelism. It is not to put another notch on our Christian gospel gun. It is to gather the fruit of eternal life. Which means that we have been granted the great joy of seeing those who we share the gospel move from death to life. Transform from those remaining in the condemnation of eternal death, to being made alive in Christ and given the gift of eternal life. In doing so we gain the fruit of sanctification, further growth in the grace of God, further maturity in the glory of God, which culminates in our own eternal life.

Transition: We must be ready to reap and… rejoice together.

Rejoicing: In the last apart of verse 36, Jesus says, “so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.” This reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep when He states, “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Perhaps today you are that lost sheep who needs to be found ? If you would welcome to good news and be saved today we will rejoice together with heaven over your repentance.

Maybe your a worker in God’s harvest and need to rejoice and celebrate that God is accomplishing His will through His ways. I pray that it will not be said of us who make up the membership of Hillcrest, that we are quick to complain and slow to celebrate. May we be ready to reap and rejoice! I confess, that often I need reminded that there is much joy and celebration in God!!

Transition: The harvest is defined and determined by the Lord of the harvest. Disciples are sent to do His will, not concoct our own agendas. Jesus’ church should never get caught up in finding her niche, rather we simply need to be satisfied with knowing and doing the will and work of God. And so the first harvest principle is to be ready to reap and rejoice. How do we do that?

...by fulfilling our role and responsibility.

Role: In verse 37 Jesus says “for here the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps.” There are different roles in the harvest of eternal life. Everyone has a part, but we do not all have the same part. Each Christian has a job to do, but we do not all have the same job.

This was one of the key corrections that the apostle Paul's was writing to the church of Corinth about. The church had become very divided, partly because they were over emphasizing particular roles within the church. So we are reminded in I Corinthians 12:12-20.

1 Corinthians 12:12–20 ESV

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

Transition: We all have a role to fulfill in the harvest. Are you aware of what your role is? Are you fulfilling your role as a member of the body? If not, would you be encouraged and equipped to do the work of ministry? Why is this important? Because we each have a role.. and a responsibility.

Responsibility: Notice what Jesus says in verse 38 of our passage. "I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Those who belong to Christ have a responsibility as heirs to the kingdom of God, but not as owners. The church is made up of sons and daughters not CEO’s. Our responsibility is the stewardship of handling what is not our own. Like Ruth we are invited into the harvest field to glean, but we should always keep in mind that the harvest belongs to God.

In the same way that the Father sent the Son, so to the Son sends His disciples to reap that for which we did not work for. When we enter into a relationship with God trough faith in Christ we enter into a labor force that has existed before the foundations of the earth were formed. As a matter of fact in John 5:17 we are going to hear Jesus say, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” How does this principle of stewardship shape and form our attitude as we fulfill our responsibilities?

I’m reminded of what God said to the nation of Israel when they were preparing to enter into the promise land: Deuteronomy 6:10-14

Deuteronomy 6:10–14 ESV

“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you—

It is great blessings to be sent by God into His harvest field. But we must never forget that it is His harvest. And we are entering into a field which we did not labor. We are participating in a harvest that Christ has laid the foundation for. Keeping this in mind helps our attitude to be full of gratitude. With thanksgiving and praise we can sing as we go into the harvest because God has blessed us to do so.

This is very helpful in a practical way because.. The Lord helps us keep the right frame of mind when we take the opportunity to share the gospel with someone. We could on one side think that we deserve the accolades when someone receives us. Further more, on the other side we are terribly offended if someone rejects us. Praise be to God that since we are ambassadors, simply fulfilling our duty as those sent by God, the reception or rejection is of God. So to Him be the glory and praise.

Closing: Be encouraged, The Lord of the harvest is sending out workers into His harvest. We are those workers. By His power, for His glory we can go from this gathering this morning ready to reap and rejoice by fulfilling our role and responsibility.

Note: for further encouragement if someone questions what is God’s will. God’s will is not illusive. Rather, His plans and desires have been revealed. Ephesians 1:7-10 tells us… May we be a people who are united in Christ to praise of His glory.