Preparing for the Harvest: Becoming Intentional

Scripture Text:

King James Version Chapter 19

19 And Jesus aentered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named bZacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought cto see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of dstature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a esycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must fabide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and greceived him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all hmurmured, saying, hThat he was gone ito be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have ktaken any thing from any man kby false accusation, I restore him lfourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, mforsomuch as nhe also is oa son of Abraham. 10 pFor the Son of man is come to qseek and to save that which was lost.

The Importance of One Sinner

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Eighteen: Jerusalem at Last! ()

Under the Mosaic Law, if a thief voluntarily confessed his crime, he had to restore what he took, add one fifth to it, and bring a trespass offering to the Lord (). If he stole something he could not restore, he had to repay fourfold (); and if he was caught with the goods, he had to repay double (). Zaccheus did not quibble over the terms of the Law; he offered to pay the highest price because his heart had truly been changed.

Here I see a man who’s heart desired to make right what he had done wrong. In my opinion, Zacchaeus was a sensitive man and most likely had heard of the miracles Jesus left behind as he traveled.

Something inside of him had to say, “I’ve got to see this Jesus for myself…I’ve just got to connect w/ him and see if what everyone says is so.” I believe the moment Zaccheus laid eyes on Jesus there was an almost instantaneous Revelation of who he was. Jesus knew this and noticed Zaccheus’ spirit.

I think it important to notice that Zaccheus was intentional about getting to know the saviour, but Jesus was intentional about getting to know the one who was lost. He was there seeking to out those who would follow Him and choose salvation over death.

(discuss how Jesus stated, “This day is salvation come to this house, mforsomuch as nhe also is oa son of Abraham.”)

We know that Jesus was approaching Palm Sunday which was 1 week before Easter Sunday. So one can come to the conclusion that Jesus has little time to spend on this earth, yet he though wise to spend time with Zaccheus, a Jewish tax collector.

Why do you think this is?

Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost ()

Servanthood and Evangelism: The gateway to Soul-winning

Doing good to all men is vital…serving the church members who are in need is Biblical

King James Version Chapter 6

10 dAs we have therefore opportunity, elet us do good unto all men, eeespecially unto them who are of fthe household of faith.

God’s kindness and mercy leads us to repentance

King James Version Chapter 2

4 Or despisest thou ethe riches of his goodness and fforbearance and glongsuffering; hnot knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Rom 2:4

There are many benefits of servant evangelism, both for those being served and for those serving. Servant evangelism reaches people where they are and exposes non-Christians to Christians showing God’s love in unmistakable and non-threatening ways. Not everyone is comfortable walking into a church building, but receiving a free service with no strings attached is harder to resist. In fact, it usually piques curiosity as to why someone would go out of his or her way to perform this act of kindness. Servant evangelism has the potential to soften people’s hearts, enabling them to hear and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a good way to “water” seed previously sown (see ).

- https://www.gotquestions.org/servant-evangelism.html

WATERING THE SEED THAT IS ALREADY SEWN

Servant Ministry can act in multiple facets:

Grows new members in the church and trains them in leadership as the mature in Christ

Enables for seeds to planted, but if no water hits the seed how will it germinate?

Saints have to be willing to water the seed.

God provides the growth, but:

There must be solid ground for a seed to grow (DOCTRINE)

A seed must have a source of nutrition (A SPIRITUAL PARENT)

A seed must have exposure to the light (God’s ecclesia of believers)

These things will not always take place instantly when the seed is planted…sometimes the season for growth has to take place. Soul-winning requires the fruit of patience if one truly desires to become a soul winner.

- Your not going to walk in, start a Bible Study and all of the sudden 50 people want to be baptized. I’m not saying that can’t happen, but most of the time it does not!

Relational connection with new converts produces more solid ground for people to grow

Don’t try to win the masses if you don’t know how to win one soul!

King James Version Chapter 10

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is ||common to man: but yGod is faithful, zwho will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a away to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

This gets taken out of context…we can put more on our plates than we need to handle (context idolatry)

King James Version Chapter 14

28 For which of you, kintending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Count the cost of being a disciple and what it will take to win one soul

Grows new members in the church and trains them in leadership as the mature in Christ

Servant evangelism benefits those serving, as well. As Christians, we are called to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have” (). Serving others gives Christians the opportunity to tell about God’s love. When someone asks why they’re doing what they’re doing, those who are serving can point to Christ—it’s great training ground for other types of evangelism! Also, as Christians, we are to be full of the Holy Spirit in such a way that the Spirit flows out to others (see ). Engaging in servant evangelism puts Christians in situations where the Holy Spirit can minister through them. Jesus commanded His disciples and, consequently, Christians today to “go and make disciples of all nations” (). Jesus didn’t say, “Wait inside your church buildings for the lost to come to you”; He said to “go.” Through servant evangelism the church can show people outside the church that God cares and give them a reason to want to come inside.

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