THE HARVEST IS RIPE
MATTHEW 9:35-38
SERMON MANUSCRIPT
MINISTER KERMIT REAVES
God needs laborers in his harvest field. In this message we will look at…
The Potential of The Harvest (2a)
The Problem of The Harvest (2b)
The Power of The Harvest (2c)
The Perils of The Harvest (3)
THE PROTECTION OF THE HARVEST
OUR PURPOSE FOR EXISTING AS A CHURCH IS TO SHARE THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST! THE CHURCH HAS THE ONLY MESSAGE THAT CAN TRULY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN PEOPLES LIVES...... AND OUR PURPOSE IS TO SHARE THE MESSAGE OF GOD’S LOVE. REMEMBER OUR LORD’S CHALLENGE “FOLLOW ME AND I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN (MATTHEW 4:19) I THINK WE SHOULD SAY IT THIS WAY IN REFERENCE TO THIS VERSE..IF YOU ARE NOT FISHING YOU ARE NOT FOLLOWING! WE ARE ALL TO BE LABORING IN GOD’S HARVEST FIELD
IN THIS TEXT WE’VE READ, AS JESUS LOOKED OUT ACROSS THE MULTITUDES HE REFERRED TO THEM AS SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD. JESUS WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION.
JESUS MADE THE STATEMENT THAT THERE WASN’T ENOUGH PEOPLE THAT WERE WILLING TO DO THE WORK OF EVANGELISM “THE HARVEST TRULY IS PLENTEOUS, BUT THE LABOURERS ARE FEW;”. SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD ARE AT THE MERCY OF WOLVES, BEARS, AND ANY OTHER RAVENOUS BEAST THAT WOULD MAKE A MEAL OUT OF THEM. WITHOUT A SHEPHERD SHEEP WANDER AIMLESSLY. THIS IS EXACTLY THE CONDITION OF AN UNSAVED PERSON. PEOPLE WITHOUT JESUS AS THE SHEPHERD OF THEIR SOULS ARE AT THE MERCY OF THE DEVIL AND ALL HIS DEMONS. AN UNSAVED PERSON WANDERS AIMLESSLY INTO ONE DANGEROUS SITUATION AFTER ANOTHER. BUT THE WORST THING OF ALL IS WHEN AN UNSAVED PERSON DIES WITHOUT JESUS HE OR SHE GOES OUT INTO ETERNITY INTO A LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER, WHICH THE BIBLE CALLS “THE SECOND DEATH.” (REV. 20:14-15)
THIS STATEMENT THE LORD MAKES... “THE HARVEST TRULY IS PLENTEOUS, BUT THE LABOURERS ARE FEW” WAS MADE OVER TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO AND IS STILL TRUE TODAY....... THE REASON WHY WE ARE DOING THIS SPECIAL FAITH EVANGELISM THIS MONTH “PLANT, WATER AND GOD GIVES THE INCREASE” SERVICE TODAY IS TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO REACH OUT TO THE LOST. I’M NOT SURE IF YOU ARE AWARE OF THIS OR NOT, BUT EVANGELISM IS THE VERY LIFE-BLOOD OF ANY CHURCH.
WITHOUT EVANGELISM ANY CHURCH, EVENTUALLY, WILL DRY UP AND DIE! IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW BIG THE CHURCH OR HOW MUCH MONEY IS IN THE BANK, WITHOUT EVANGELISM ANY CHURCH WILL DIE. AND BY THE SAME TOKEN ANY CHRISTIAN THAT DOESN’T HAVE EVANGELISM AT THEIR HEART WILL ALSO DRY UP AND DIE SPIRITUALLY.
THE POTENTIAL OF THE HARVEST JESUS SAID, “THE HARVEST TRULY IS PLENTEOUS, BUT THE LABOURERS ARE FEW” NOT TOO MUCH HAS CHANGED.....WE FACE THE SAME DIFFICULTIES THAT JESUS FACED TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO. WE NEED PEOPLE THAT WILL DO THE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST! ..... DO WE REALIZE HOW MANY PEOPLE THERE ARE THAT ARE LOOKING FOR A CHURCH HOME? THERE ARE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE THAT ARE STARVING FOR A GOOD CHURCH TO GO TO. THERE ARE LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE FED UP WITH LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT CHRIST! AND IT IS OUR PURPOSE, IT IS OUR TASK TO SHARE WITH EVERYBODY, THE FACT THAT GOD LOVES PEOPLE......GOD LOVES YOU!!!! IN JOHN 3:16 WE READ, “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.”
THE MAIN REASON THE CHURCH EXISTS ON PLANET EARTH – IS TO REACH PEOPLE.
WE ARE TO REFLECT THE HEARTBEAT OF GOD FOR UNSAVED PEOPLE! HE LOVES THEM...HE LOVES YOU.....
IT IS GOD’S DESIRE TO SEE LIVES TRANSFORMED BY THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
THE QUESTION IS, “DO WE DESIRE WHAT GOD DESIRES?” THIS IS A QUESTION THAT IS VERY TROUBLING. IT SEEMS THAT FROM THE BEHAVIOR OF MOST CHURCHES AND CHRISTIANS THAT WE DON’T DESIRE WHAT GOD DESIRES. GOD DESIRES FOR US TO BE LIKE CHRIST.......THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, GOD IS SHAPING US INTO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST.....
LOOK AT THIS TEXT........ THE MISSION OF CHRIST WAS THREEFOLD. TO MINISTER (V.35). TO, DEMONSTRATE COMPASSION (V.36). AND TO CALL MEN TO THE GREATEST OF ALL VISIONS (V.37-38)
LOOK AT VERSE 35: MATTHEW 9:35
AND JESUS WENT ABOUT ALL THE CITIES AND VILLAGES, TEACHING IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES, AND PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM, AND HEALING EVERY SICKNESS AND EVERY DISEASE AMONG THE PEOPLE.
THE MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST WAS TO MINISTER..... I SEE SOMETHING HERE.......LOOK AT HIS METHOD OF MINISTERING......... JESUS CHRIST HAD BUT ONE METHOD IN REACHING PEOPLE: HE “WENT OUT” AFTER PEOPLE. HE DID NOT SIT BACK AND WAIT FOR PEOPLE TO COME TO HIM. LUKE 19:10 SAYS..... “FOR THE SON OF MAN IS COME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH IS LOST” .......ITS RATHER FOOLISH FOR US TO SIT BACK AND WAIT FOR PEOPLE TO COME TO US. BECAUSE THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WILL NOT COME. THEY DO NOT KNOW TO COME; WE HAVE TO GO OUT AFTER THEM. .......THATS WHY JEUSS COMMANDED US IN THE GREAT COMMISSION, “GO YE THEREFORE, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST: TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU: AND, LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAY, EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD. AMEN.” (MATTHEW 28:19-20.)
SO HIS METHOD WAS THAT “HE WENT OUT” AND LOOK AT WHERE HE WENT......JESUS LITERALLY WENT EVERYWHERE: IN ALL THE CITIES AND VILLAGES (MATTHEW 9:35), IN THE COUNTRYSIDE (MATTHEW 5:1), IN THE SYNAGOGUES (MATTHEW 9:35), ON MOUNTAINS (MATTHEW 5:1), BY THE SEASHORE (MATTHEW 4:18), IN BOATS (MATTHEW 8:23F), BY GRAVEYARDS (MATTHEW 8:28F), AND IN HOMES (MATTHEW 8:14; MATTHEW 9:10). THERE WAS NO PLACE WHERE JESUS DID NOT GO TO MINISTER.
THAT TELLS ME TO TELL US TODAY, THAT WE SOULD GO EVERYWHERE..... WE SHOULD NOT NEGLECT THE MANSIONS OR THE SLUMS....CHRIST WENT EVERYWHERE!.....
AND LOOK AT WHAT HE DID WHEN HE GOT THERE, LOOK AT HIS WORK...... HE TAUGHT, PREACHED AND HEALED.......
-HE PREACHED. HE PROCLAIMED THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KING, GOD HIMSELF. HE BROUGHT THE GLORIOUS MESSAGE OF SALVATION AND REDEMPTION TO MAN.
- HE HEALED. HE MET THE PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS OF THOSE WHO HURT AND SUFFERED.
- HE TAUGHT. HE ROOTED AND GROUNDED ALL OF THOSE WHO WOULD RECEIVE THE MESSAGE. YOU SEE, HEARING AND RECEIVING THE GOOD NEWS WERE NOT ENOUGH. PEOPLE NEEDED TO BE TAUGHT.........YES....YES....WHAT GOD HAS TO SAY HE WANTS TAUGHT SO THAT MEN MAY KNOW HOW TO LIVE. MEN NEED TO HEAR THE MESSAGE, BUT THEY ALSO NEED TO BE TAUGHT THE DETAILS OF THE MESSAGE AND HOW TO APPLY IT TO THEIR LIVES. THE ONLY WAY WE CAN KNOW HOW TO LIVE THIS CHRISTIAN LIFE DAY BY DAY IS TO BE TAUGHT THE DETAILS OF THE PREACHED GOSPEL MESSAGE.
WHAT IS THIS GOSPEL MESSAGE?
IT IS THE SUPREME FACT OF HISTORY. (1) THROUGH JESUS INCARNATION, JESUS REVEALED GOD TO MAN; (2) THROUGH HIS ATONEMENT, JESUS RECONCILED MAN TO GOD; (3) AND THROUGH HIS GIFT OF THE SPIRIT, HE MADE POSSIBLE A NEW LIFE FROM ABOVE FOR THOSE, WHO SAT IN DARKNESS AND IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH. (A) IN OTHER WORDS, THIS GOSPEL IS GOD WITH US - AT BETHLEHEM; (B) GOD FOR US - AT CALVARY;
(C) GOD IN US - AT PENTECOST. ..... THIS GOSPEL IS GOOD NEWS FROM ON HIGH. ...IT IS THE NEWS THAT NO MATTER WHAT YOU’VE DONE IN THIS LIFE, AND NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE....GOD LOVES YOU!....AND HE WANTS YOU TO SPEND ETERNITY IN HEAVEN WITH HIM.......... THIS GOSPEL IS THE GOOD NEWS THAT FORGIVENESS IS AVAILABLE TO ALL WHO PUT THEIR TRUST, FAITH, BELIEF IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST...
YES , A PART OF JESUS MISSION WAS TO MINISTER! AND THATS OUR MISSION..
BUT THEN IF YOU LOOK HERE AT VERSE 36 WITH ME, I SEE THE SECOND PART OF JESUS MISSION..... LISTEN TO THE TEXT MATTHEW 9:36
BUT WHEN HE SAW THE MULTITUDES, HE WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION ON THEM, BECAUSE THEY FAINTED, AND WERE SCATTERED ABROAD, AS SHEEP HAVING NO SHEPHERD.
THE MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST WAS TO SHOW COMPASSION , TO DEMONSTRATE GOD’S COMPASSION, THE KIND OF COMPASSION WE ARE TO HAVE TOWARDS PEOPLE...
JESUS WAS MOVED OVER THE PHYSICAL NEEDS OF MEN: THEIR HUNGER, PAIN, AND SUFFERING.
HE WAS MOVED OVER THE SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF MEN: THEIR BEING LOST AND DEAD TO GOD; THEIR EMPTINESS AND LONELINESS AND BEWILDERMENT; THEIR HAVING NO PURPOSE, MEANING, OR SIGNIFICANCE IN LIFE. HE SAW THEM ALL, AND AS HE LOOKED, HE SAW THREE THINGS.......... ITS RIGHT HERE IN THE TEXT.......BUT WHEN HE SAW THE MULTITUDES, HE WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION ON THEM, BECAUSE THEY FAINTED, JESUS SAW THE CROWDS FAINTING: THAT WORD FAINTED MEANS TO GROW WEARY, TO LOSE HEART, TO LACK COURAGE,. THE WORD IS USED WHEN A PERSON HAS STRUGGLED AND STRUGGLED AGAINST SIN, OR STOOD AGAINST THE BARRAGE OF INSULT AFTER INSULT UNTIL HE CAN STAND NO MORE.
IT MEANS THAT A PERSON HAS UNDERGONE TRIAL AFTER TRIAL UNTIL HE IS READY TO COLLAPSE...... THESE FOLK WERE WEIGHED DOWN..... THE PRESSURES OF LIFE CAN WEIGH YOU DOWN, LIFE CAN BE CRUEL, HARD AND EMPTY..... THE PRESSURES OF EVERYDAY LIVING CAN DEAL YOU SUCH A BLOW THAT YOU’LL FEEL HOEPLESS AND WORTHLESS..... WHEN JESUS SAW THIS HE WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION.........HE WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION WHEN HE SAW THE CROWDS SCATTERED..... THE BIBLE SAYS, .BUT WHEN HE SAW THE MULTITUDES, HE WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION ON THEM, BECAUSE THEY FAINTED, AND WERE SCATTERED ABROAD,....
JESUS SAW THE CROWDS SCATTERED...... THEY WANDERED ABOUT, NOT KNOWING WHICH DIRECTION TO GO. THEY STOPPED HERE AND THERE TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING THAT SATISFIED THEM.... .. THEY TRIED SOME OF EVERYTHING, TRYING TO FIND SOME SENSE OF DIRECTION FOR THEIR LIFE........HOWEVER NOTHING FILLED THEIR INNER BEING; NOTHING REALLY SATISFIED, NOT SPIRITUALLY. THE HUMAN SOUL STILL ACHED FOR THE TRUTH OF GOD. .... THEY WERE SCATTERED......THEY WERE STRUGGLING AND FIGHTING WITHIN AND WITHOUT.......JESUS HAD COMPASSION ON THEM..... JESUS SAW THE CROWD FAINTING, HE SAW THE CROWD SCATTERED AND HE SAW THE CROWDS AS SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD..... LOOK AT THE TEXT HERE AGAIN.......... BUT WHEN HE SAW THE MULTITUDES, HE WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION ON THEM, BECAUSE THEY FAINTED, AND WERE SCATTERED ABROAD, AS SHEEP HAVING NO SHEPHERD.
THATS THE THIRD THING HE SAW.... (YES) JESUS SAW THE CROWDS AS SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD. THEY WENT ASTRAY, JUST AS SHEEP. THEY HAD NO LEADER WHO HAD THE COURAGE TO SURRENDER TO THE TRUTH AND TO LIVE BY IT.
THERE WAS NO ONE TO TEACH THE TRUTH. FEW FOLK LED THE PEOPLE TO GOD; MANY LED THE PEOPLE AWAY FROM GOD. THE PEOPLE WERE AS SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD.!!!!! AND WHEN JESUS SAW THE PEOPLE IN THIS CONDITION, HE WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION.... HIS COMPASSION COMPELLED HIM TO TAKE ACTION.........VERSE 37&38 SAYS..
.MATTHEW 9:37 38
THEN SAITH HE UNTO HIS DISCIPLES, THE HARVEST TRULY IS PLENTEOUS, BUT THE LABOURERS ARE FEW; [38] PRAY YE THEREFORE THE LORD OF THE HARVEST, THAT HE WILL SEND FORTH LABOURERS INTO HIS HARVEST.
********LOOK AT THIS (2X) HERE THE LORD GIVES THIS VISION OF A GREAT HARVEST........HUMANS EVERYWHERE ARE FAINTING, THEY’RE WEARY, THEY’RE BEWILDERED, SCATTERED, AND ARE AS SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD. .......
JESUS SAID THE HARVEST IS GREAT, ITS PLENTEOUS. THERE ARE FIELDS AND FIELDS OF PEOPLE GROWING IN THE VALLEYS AND HILLS OF THE WORLD....... JESUS SAID IT IS A RIPE HARVEST, READY AND DESPERATE TO BE REAPED.....NOW DON’T MISS THIS...... THE HARVEST HAS TO BE REAPED IN ITS SEASON, THAT IS, IN ITS GENERATION. THERE IS ONLY A SHORT TIME WHEN IT CAN BE REAPED; OTHERWISE IT WILL ROT AND DIE IN THE FIELD WHERE IT GREW.
EVERY GENERATION HAS TO BE REAPED IN ITS GENERATION. ....EVERYONE HAS ONLY A CERTAIN SEASON (GENERATION, LIFE-SPAN) WHEN HE CAN BE REAPED. YOUR SEASON FOR BEING REAPED IS EVER SO SHORT.
EVERYONE HAS A PEAK SEASON, A TIME WHEN YOU ARE REALLY AT YOUR PEAK AND READY TO BE HARVESTED.
LISTEN TO ME NOW.....
IT IS SO MUCH MORE FRUITFUL AND JOYFUL TO HARVEST A MAN OR WOMAN IN THEIR PEAK SEASON THAN AT ANY OTHER TIME.
THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL..... THERES
1) A HARVEST OF CHILDREN WHO NEED TO BE REACHED AND TAUGHT.
2) A HARVEST OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO NEED TO BE REACHED AND GROUNDED IN THE WORD.
3) A HARVEST OF WOMEN WHO NEED TO BE REACHED AND TAUGHT THE CONFIDENCE AND PROTECTION OF GOD’S LOVE.
4) A HARVEST OF MEN WHO NEEDS TO BE REACHED AND TAUGHT THE STRENGTH AND SECURITY OF GOD’S DIRECTION AND CARE.
THE PROBLEM OF THE HARVEST
THE HARVEST IS GREAT, ITS PLENTFUL, ITS RIPE!!!!!!! YES, ...AH....BUT THERE’S A PROBLEM JESUS SAYS THE LABORERS ARE FEW....... CHRIST REVEALS THE GREAT NEED FOR LABORERS...... CHRIST NEEDS PEOPLE, HE NEEDS BELIEVERS: MEN, WOMEN, BOYS, AND GIRLS. ..THE LABORERS ARE FEW. ...HE NEEDS MANY LABORERS AND HE NEEDS THEM NOW. UNLESS THERE ARE REAPERS LIKE YOU, TO GO FORTH, THE HARVEST WILL DIE AND ROT UPON THE EARTH.
THE HARVEST WILL NEVER BE REAPED UNLESS LABORERS GO FORTH .... IN CASE YOU’VE HAVENT’ GOTTEN IT YET....THE HARVEST IS EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD WITHIN A GENERATION......LABORERS ARE DESPERATELY NEEDED FOR EVERY GENERATION........ GOD ALMIGHTY........ WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT THIS PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE I HAD TO STOP AND HONESTLY ASK MYSELF, “WHY ARE THERE NOT MORE LABORERS? AND THE ANSWER CAME TO ME THAT
1) SOME REJECT THE CALL OF GOD.
2) SOME POSTPONE THE CALL OF GOD.
3) SOME DENY THE CALL OF GOD; THEY CLOSE THEIR MINDS ENTIRELY.
4) SOME JUST DON’T HAVE ENOUGH COMMITMENT TO REACH OUT AND MINISTER.
5) SOME ARE SATISFIED WITH THE TRADITIONAL RITUAL AND APPROACHES OF RELIGION....... JUST GOING TO CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY ........
AND THEN THE HOLY SPIRIT INTERUPTED MY THOUGHTS AND SAID MINISTER REAVES, DON’T DWELL ON THE NEGATIVE AS TO WHY THERE ARE NOT MORE LABORERS......... KEEP LOOKING AT MY WORD...THERE’S POWER FOR THE HARVEST....... VERSE 38 SAYS.....MATTHEW 9:38
PRAY YE THEREFORE THE LORD OF THE HARVEST, THAT HE WILL SEND FORTH LABOURERS INTO HIS HARVEST.
YES...YES..THATS WHAT HE SAID..... PRAY, PRAY, PRAY....... TO THE LORD OF THE HARVEST, ASK HIM TO SEND OUT WORKERS INTO HIS HARVEST FIELD.....
LABORERS ARE NEEDED, BUT THEY MUST BE THE LABORERS OF GOD, FOR THE HARVEST IS GOD’S. IT WANT DO US ANY GOOD TO HUMANLY SELECT THE LABORERS, IT WANT DO US ANY GOOD TO SEND LABORERS FORTH IN HUMAN STRENGTH......... GOD’S CALL AND GOD’S APPOINTMENT IS NEEDED. ...CHRIST IS SAYING, “PRAY THAT GOD WILL RAISE UP ENOUGH LABORERS TO REACH YOUR GENERATION, THE GENERATION FOR WHICH YOU ARE IMMEDIATELY RESPONSIBLE.”.....YES LORD......THATS WHAT HE SAID PRAY.....PRAY....PRAY..... (3X) TO THE LORD OF THE HARVEST, THAT HE WILL SEND FORTH LABOURERS INTO HIS HARVEST.
THE HARVEST IS THE LORD’S. .....HE KNOWS THE HARVEST, EVERY STEM AND BLADE OF IT. HE KNOWS EVERYONE— AND EVERY BODYS MIND,, HE KNOWS THE NEED AND PROVISION ......HE KNOWS THE HEART AND JUST WHAT MUST BE DONE TO HARVEST THE FIELD IN THE MOST EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE WAY..............
THATS WHY THE LABORERS MUST BE CHOSEN, CALLED, AND ENLISTED BY JESUS. CHRIST IS THE ONE WHO MUST SEND FORTH LABORERS........ WHAT WE HAVE TO DO THIS MORNING IS PRAY FOR LABORERS........ THE THING THAT DRIVES US TO PRAY FOR LABORERS IS THE GOOD NEWS OF THIS GOSPEL..... TO THE UTMOST JESUS SAVES....... GOD LOVES YOU NO MATTER WHAT YOU’VE DONE!!!!!! JESUS SAVES..... JUST KNOWING THAT, DRIVES ME TO MY KNEES TO PRAY FOR LABOURERS.........
HAVING COMPASSION FOR THE SOULS OF MEN, DRIVES US TO PRAY TO THE LORD OF THE HARVEST, THAT HE WILL SEND FORTH LABOURERS INTO HIS HARVEST. SEND LABOURERS TO THOSE WHO HAVE FAINTED AND ARE SCATTERED AND ARE WITHOUT A SHEPHERD.
GOD DESIRES EVERY GENERATION TO HAVE A GREAT FORCE OF LABORERS. IT IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD TO BE REACHED WITH “THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM”........HE WILLS FOR NONE TO BE LOST....
.. AND GOD CAN REAP THE HARVEST IF SEVERAL CONDITIONS EXIST.
1) IF THERE IS ENOUGH CONCERN WITHIN OUR GENERATION FOR THE MULTITUDES OF PEOPLE WHO ARE LOST...... GOD CAN REAP THE HARVEST......
2) IF THERE IS ENOUGH PRAYER FOR LABORERS......GOD CAN REAP THE HARVEST...
3) IF THERE IS ENOUGH COMMITMENT TO SURRENDER TO HIS CALL TO GO.....THEN...GOD CAN REAP THE HARVEST...
4) IF THERE IS ENOUGH DEDICATION TO FOLLOW HIM DAY BY DAY AND HOUR BY HOUR...THEN GOD CAN REAP THE HARVEST...
5) IF THERE IS ENOUGH FAITH TO BELIEVE CHRIST AND THE TRUTH OF THE SCRIPTURE. GOD CAN REAP THE HARVEST...
6) IF THERE IS ENOUGH CONVICTION TO STAND TRUE AND FIRM THROUGH ALL THINGS. THEN GOD CAN REAP THE HARVEST...
WHEN I THINK OF THE GOODNESS OF JESUS AND ALL THAT HE’S DONE FOR ME...... I WANT TO BE ONE OF THE LABORERS WORKING FOR GOD.
I REALIZE THAT IT WAS SOMEBODY IN MY GENERATION, WHO TOOK THE TIME TO SHARE THE GOSPEL MESSAGE WITH ME....... HAD NOT SOMEBODY SHARED THE GOSPEL MESSAGE, YOU AND I WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY......... WE NEVER WOULD HAVE COME TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST AND WE NEVER COULD HAVE EXPERIENCED THE FORGIVENESS OF GOD THAT IS OFFERED THROUGH THE CROSS- NOR WOULD WE HAVE THE PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE........
JUST LIKE YOU CAME TO BELIEVE BECAUSE OF SOMEONE ELSE, SO NOW ( I MEAN RIGHT NOW)... SOMEONE ELSE WAITS FOR YOU TO TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS CHRIST..... WILL YOU BE FAITHFUL?......... WILL YOU LOVE THOSE AROUND YOU, THOSE YOU KNOW AND EVEN THOSE YOU DON’T KNOW..... WILL YOU LOVE THEM ENOUGH TO TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS?....... SAY YES!!!!!!........WILL YOU GIVE OTHER PEOPLE THE HOPE YOU HAVE IN JESUS CHRIST.
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I READ A LETTER THE OTHER DAY FROM AN 18-YEAR-OLD GIRL FROM WASHINGTON STATE WHO ATTENDED A WORSHIP SERVICE THERE. AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HER LIFE SHE HEARD THE GOSPEL MESSAGE. THE FOLLOWING TUESDAY THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH RECEIVED A LETTER FROM HER. IT READ:
DEAR CHURCH MEMBERS:
LAST SUNDAY I ATTENDED YOUR CHURCH, AND I HEARD THE PREACHER. IN THE SERMON THE PREACHER SAID THAT ALL MEN HAVE SINNED AND REBELLED AGAINST GOD. BECAUSE OF THEIR REBELLION AND DISOBEDIENCE THEY ALL FACE ETERNAL DAMNATION AND SEPARATION FROM GOD.
BUT THEN HE ALSO SAID GOD LOVED MEN AND SENT HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST, INTO THE WORLD TO REDEEM MEN FROM THEIR SINS AND THAT ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIM WOULD GO TO HEAVEN AND LIVE WITH GOD ETERNALLY.
MY PARENTS RECENTLY DIED IN RAPID SUCCESSION. I KNOW THEY DID NOT BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, WHOM YOU CALL THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD. IF WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE, THEY ARE DAMNED.
YOU COMPEL ME TO BELIEVE THAT EITHER THE MESSAGE IS TRUE, THAT YOU YOURSELF DON’T BELIEVE THIS MESSAGE, OR THAT YOU DON’T CARE. YOU SEE, WE LIVE ONLY THREE BLOCKS FROM YOUR CHURCH, AND NO ONE EVER TOLD US.
(MY GOD, I WONDER HOW MANY FOLK IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD HAVE WE FAILED TO REACH WITH THE GOSPEL MESSAGE).
WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THE FACT OF WHEN WE DO NOTHING WHEN WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REACH SOMEONE FOR CHRIST AND THEY DIE IN THEIR SINS WE ARE RESPONSIBLE. (EZK. 33:8-9) “IF I ANNOUNCE THAT SOME WICKED PEOPLE ARE SURE TO DIE AND YOU FAIL TO WARN THEM ABOUT CHANGING THEIR WAYS, THEN THEY WILL DIE IN THEIR SINS, BUT I WILL HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR DEATHS. BUT IF YOU WARN THEM TO REPENT AND THEY DON’T REPENT, THEY WILL DIE IN THEIR SINS, BUT YOU WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE.”
Studying for this message has been a good prompter for me. I need to pray more for souls to be saved and soul winners and I would urge you to follow the same pattern. My next point is…
The Perils of The Harvest WE NEED TO LOOK AT LUKE 10:3
"Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves." (v.3)
Our Lord compares the laborers (soul winners) "he is sending out to ‘sheep’, because they were meek and humble in their spirits, harmless, and inoffensive, in their lives and conversations." The desire of the Lord’s sheep is to do the shepherd’s bidding. But, there are the wolves. Their desire is to attack the sheep, and scatter them, keeping them from their appointed task. Wolves want to strike fear into the hearts of the sheep. The wolves want the sheep to run and hide. The wolves want the sheep to withdraw from Christian service. Tragically, fear of the wolves prompt many Christians in our day to withdraw from serving the Lord.
PROTECTION FOR THE HARVEST
With that thought in mind, I want to close with the story of calvary JESUS’S DEATH BURIAL AND RESURRECTION
Christian friends, this story serves as a reminder that a life that withdraws from Christian service to the Lord degenerates and becomes useless. God wants laborers. God wants you!
