Anticipating the Harvest

John 4:35–38 NKJV

Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

It is Harvest Time!

John 9:4 NKJV

I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.

Matthew 9:37–38 NKJV

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Joel 2:28–32 NKJV

“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

Posturing for Harvest

VISION: Anticipation NOT Apathy

John 4:35 NKJV

Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

Where’s the Harvest?

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; and optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." --Winston Churchill

"The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized during the lifetime of the opportunity." --Leonard Ravenhill

Traffic Light Christians

Red-Light Christians (Unbelief): “The world is going to hell and want nothing to do with God or the gospel. It is time to isolate and prepare for judgment and Christ’s Second Coming.”

Yellow-Light Christians (Procrastination): “One day the harvest will be ready. Let’s just relax and keep polishing the sickle.”

Green-Light Christians (Faith): “Why are we waiting? The fields are ripe! People are ready now to be saved if we will just go and share the gospel.”

FAITH: Opportunities NOT Obstacles

Galatians 6:9 NKJV

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Twelve Spies: Ten saw the obstacles. Two saw the opportunity.

If Christ has called us to go, then going is faith that God has gone before us.

COMPASSION: Care NOT Condemnation

Matthew 9:35–36 NKJV

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

Luke 10:29–37 NKJV

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

We must not see ourselves better than others. Except for grace, we are no better than the worst of sinners.

We must see people the way that Jesus sees people.

COMMITMENT: Participation NOT Procrastination

John 9:4 NKJV

I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.

"God has promised pardon to your conversion; He has not promised a tomorrow for your delay." --Augustine on procrastination

"Procrastination is the death of time and the grave of opportunity." --Adrian Rogers

CONNECTION: Contributors NOT Consumers

Matthew 9:37–38 NKJV

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

The Response of Faith

I will lift up my eyes on the fields!

What field has God assigned to you?

I will believe that people are ready to hear and receive the gospel.

I will begin to reap the harvest of souls around me

The Reward of Faith

He who reaps receives wages.

He who reaps gathers fruit for eternal life.

He who reaps experiences the joy of the Christian life.