Look To The Harvest

John 4

John 4:35 KJV 1900

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

I remember as a young child my daddy planting a garden in our backyard. I saw him select a portion of the yard and begin to till the land, to break-up the ground. We would ride to the seed store and select the seeds he wanted to plant. I would always select the cherry tomatoes. We would plant and cover those seeds and then water them. I remember asking him how long would it take for this or that. He knew how hard I worked with him planting and when they started to ripe and were ready to be picked, he would let me know. As an adult now, I miss those days planting and picking with my dad.

In our narrative today, we are reading of a young woman who visited Jacob’s well later on in the day. She could have been dealing with shame and guilt. She would make her daily routine by going later to the well and being undisturbed, would gather her water.

This particular day, Jesus had let his disciples know that he needed to go to Samaria. This woman had never met Jesus, but he knew her.

Maybe you didn’t grow up on a farm or plant a garden but in planting you worked hard, I plowed, I sowed, I watered, I cried, I waited, I was patient, so now it's time for me to sit back and enjoy the harvest.

00:14:57so now it's time for me to sit back and enjoy the hardest cuz Harvest

To gather the harvest, requires real work. When I hear Harvest I feel like it means God's about the hook me up.

Harvest requires Work

Maybe the concept of harvest has been a little water down and maybe maybe we don't understand. I heard a preacher preach one time and he said the Harvest is the hardest part.

That's when you're waking up the earliest that's when you're going to bed the latest during the Harvest.

I get the Harvest because we sewed and now we want to reap

But you can't reap with your feet up

00:18:19with your feet up

The Reaping isn't easy

Let me give you a context on John chapter 4 and how Jesus went to Samaria in fact the way I said it really doesn't give you the full context the Bible says he had to go through Samaria not because there wasn't another route but because he had a reason for going through there he could have gone around Samaria

Every other Jew went around Samaria because they hated the Samaritans and the Samaritans hated them and Samaria was a place of great cultural conflict Now text for Samaritan is a positive one why because when we think Samaritan we think Good Samaritan even people who don't go to church of heard the phrase he's a good Samaritan. You wouldn’t hear the phrase Good Samaritan from the Jewish people because they hate the Samaritans

00:20:48because they hate the Samaritans

They hated them and and and of course they hated them because they were hated and there was great cultural conflict and there was great religious discrepancy and the Samaritans had once desecrated the Jewish people's place of worship in the Samaritans considered themselves the true people of God and the Jewish people considered the Samaritans half-breeds just walk straight into it

Straight into the context of a conflict and he goes through Samaria and his disciples are hungry so they go to get food and they left Jesus at a well and Jesus is waiting for a woman who doesn't know what he's doing there and they start having a conversation and it's the woman comes she wants to get some water because that's what she came out to do and we learned a few weeks ago that this wasn't just any woman she was a thirsty woman and I mean that just like you think I mean it because we find out in the story that she had five husbands. 5 husbands that wasn't just a bad decision, this is a pattern.

00:22:12this is Saturn

00:22:31imma help you today

I'mma help you today and so she had a problem and her problem was that there's this man at the well who wants to talk with her and she wants to get some water

Her problem is blocking her so she thinks from receiving what she needs but actually we learned in the course of their discourse that what she perceives to be her greatest problem is her greatest opportunity

because rather than leaving with some water she is meeting living water and when she leaves she will no longer need a husband to make her happy or fulfilled

she comes to the well to get water and instead Jesus is waiting trying to get water inside of her. Jesus's is trying to get the woman to get past the way things appear because she wants to keep the conversation at an abstract conceptual level where should we go to worship the Samaritans worship hear the Jews worship hear you're a man I'm a woman you're not supposed to be talking to me according to Jewish law and your Rabbi and you don't like us and all of this she's trying to keep the conversation up here at a conceptual level

and Jesus makes it really practical and speaks to her situation and when he does that something happens in her that she realizes that this isn't about geographical locations and it's not about physical water it's about something within her

when will you realize that it is not about your job

that's not your biggest problem. The job when will you realize it's it's not about your income level

some people make millions of dollars and end up Broker Than minimum wage workers because if it's not right Within

and so she's kind of discovering what we all have to discover that the real need of our life is within and he's talking to this woman in the disciples and so that they're full now and they come back and they see Jesus talking to this woman which is a problem somebody say problem this is not good for PR

00:24:56and so she's kind of

Discovery what we all have to discover that the real need of our life is within

00:25:09and she's talking to this woman in the disciples remember they there their they're grabbing

00:25:16did Robin do you say that rubbing new show that Robin

00:25:21they said they just killed they just killed some Chick-fil-A

00:25:26Anna

00:25:29and so that they're full now and they come back and they see Jesus

00:25:35talking to this woman which is a problem somebody say problem this is not good for PR

and she's a Samaritan

she's a _______________

look at verse 27 they were surprised to find him talking with a woman

00:25:53they were back up in

John 4:27 KJV 1900

And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?

00:25:56did they find them look at verse 27 they were surprised to find him talking with a woman

but no one asked what do you want or why are you talking with her

maybe they had their own assumptions

maybe they were scared to say something we'll know Peter would have said some he was never scared to say something I'm trying to figure it out standing off to the side but this a problem and see the one that had a problem because she wanted to get water but now there's this man sitting on the well so she can't get the water but he is the water and she doesn't know that and he's being all confusing because she doesn't understand the context of the conversation yet because often your spiritual journey will feel confusing at first the only way to clarity as to begin with confusion you you have to start where you are you can't start where you want to be going back and forth give me a drink of water and she's like why you asking me for water and he's like well if you really got it if you knew what this was all about if you understand the context of this conversation you would ask me and I will give you water and you would need water anymore because you have something inside of you that would satisfy your need better than John and Jimmy and Juan and

all these other Wells you've been going to coming up empty and she goes yeah but you don't have a bucket

and he looks at her

and he doesn't say this in the text but I know what he's thinking he's thinking I'm looking at one

you're about to be my bucket

you're about to become a bucket

Because I want to get this water into Samaria

took to the place that people are going around to the place where religion has quarantine these people I want to get some water in there and I need a bucket

I think you'd be a good one

you're on his bucket list

00:27:53you're on his bucket list

We have a saying in our church see what God can do through you they had the same four more months to the Harvest

because some people came to church and they didn't just want to see what God could do for them

they didn't just come to get a blessing

they came to be a bucket

00:28:31clap for the EKG volunteer

00:28:34stop. For the Breeders Cup for the welcome to come for the bucket

and the only way you can receive the water of this word that I'm preaching is that there were buckets who were available and this woman she she's she's been through some stuff but sometimes the people who have been through the most make the best buckets

and the disciples they come back in the they see in talking to this woman but they don't see her as a bucket they see her as a blockage

and they're concerned about Jesus

the one that's talking to Jesus she gets so excited she leaves her water jar and heads back to the town where did she go

00:29:22maybe it's John cuz he wrote this and maybe he didn't want us to know he was a stupid

00:29:27so he just generically says look at verse

00:29:33looking for 28 the men are coming back to town to disciples the one that's talking to Jesus she gets so excited she leaves her water jar when back to the town where did she go

what's the name of the town?

Samaria

she went back to the place they hated as they were coming

and she said to the people the Samaritans the ones that the disciples would have walked around

come see a man who told me everything I ever did

00:30:08and you may be thinking that the way God proves his presence in your life is by bringing you to conclusions you know like when I understand this when I get that it's somewhere waiting on this place when it will all make sense but she still she still has questions

00:30:32but you still got questions

so she's just beginning and she's she's she's willing to go back and get these people and she's curious but she isn't certain yet and it's a good starting place

00:30:35so she's just beginning and she's she's she's willing to go back and get these people and she's curious but she isn't certain yet and it's a good starting place

this man is different than all the other broken jars that I tried to fill that could not hold water

00:30:50bet you did

00:30:53what's what's his name this time will you moving in with now

00:30:56are you hooking up with now

00:30:59none of this man's different at the surface

00:31:04this man is different than all the other broken jars that I tried to fill that could not hold water

this one is different

See somehow what Jesus said to her penetrated beneath the surface and she realized that she was in the presence of of something that she didn't understand what she wanted people to see and so she asks a question could this isn't Messiah and they followed her cuz they just had to meet this man they just have to see this well they just had to experience and encounter the possibility that this might be the one so they came

00:31:23but somehow it penetrated beneath the surface and she realized that she was in the presence of of something that she didn't understand what she wanted people to see and so she got she asks a question could this isn't Messiah and they followed her cuz they just had to meet this man they just have to see this well they just had to experience counter the possibility that this might be the one so they came

while looking at verse 31 they came from Samaria toward the well and meanwhile his disciples Jesus disciples or like a man eat something

John 4:31 KJV 1900

In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

Jesus had been hungry

Jesus had been hungry

but Jesus said I have food to eat that you know nothing about

00:32:25Jesus any mayonnaise

John 4:32 KJV 1900

But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

00:32:28or onions no mayo no onions eat this burger

00:32:34and I want you to watch verse 32 it is the ultimate Jesus Juke

I'm looking for the hungry people

00:32:38but Jesus is allowed to Jesus Took so they done a doggy bag I have food to eat that you know nothing about

00:32:54I'm looking for the hungry people

These disciples they just didn't get it I know I know they didn't get it cuz I'm verse 33 they look at each other and say

00:33:11stop that all day outside

John 4:33 KJV 1900

Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

00:33:19on these four disciples they just didn't get it I know I know they didn't get it cuz I'm verse 33 they look at each other and say

because they are meal minded

00:33:30did you did you did you get my protein bar

00:33:37I didn't see a me

00:33:39why because they are meal minded

so they're on this level where's the next meal

that's where many of us left

the next meal

the next compliment

the next relationship

the next thing on our to-do list

the next thing on our to-do list

the next Crisis

They wanted Jesus to eat something, that Jesus need to eat right now.

I'm working on something I'm working on something this is why some of your friends don't understand you right now

00:34:11eat something Jesus need to eat right now I'm working on something I'm working on something this is why some of your friends don't understand you right now

I'm on a mission

show me like you mean it I'm on a mission

It's Harvest Time

John 4:35 KJV 1900

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.