As a young boy growing up in Horsham I always knew when the harvest was on.
You see, on my way to school I had to ride past the local silos.
And when the harvest was on, there would be wheat trucks lined up waiting to drop off their load.
And you also knew when it was a great harvest because the trucks would line up not just down one street but be lined around a lot of the streets.
However I also knew when harvest was on because I would get hayfever.
So when I moved to Melbourne this was one thing I looked forward to…no harvest no problems.
However my life in Melbourne was still affected by harvest time, but a different sort of harvest.
I was walking for an employment agency who helped recruit pickers for fruit harvest.
And you could always tell when it was a good year.
Growers would be frantically ringing up, panicking that there was not enough pickers and that their fruit would go rotten.
And so it is interesting that Jesus today addresses his disciples with the picture of the situation being like a harvest.
Consider the picture.
Jesus had been healing and teaching.
A crowd of people had gathered around him.
The disciples were with him and may have been wondering what are we going to do.
What next?
And Jesus highlights to the disciples that it is a good thing that these people are here.
He says the harvest is plentiful…
And also highlights the next issue of dealing with the harvest…
The workers are few.
And his solution to this situation is first of all for the disciples to pray for workers in the harvest field and secondly Jesus send them…
Jesus sends us as disciples to live and work in the harvest.
And our harvest field too is huge.
Consider our situation in Australia on any one Sunday 10% of the population are in church…
worshipping God.
But over 70% indicate they are Christian.
It is a huge difference.
And experience tells us that many of those do not fully realise what Jesus is about.
So the harvest is huge is plentiful.
It is huge.
But if we are to go, what are we going with?
What is the essential tool we take?
What are we taking out in the harvest field?
Well the answer to this comes from our reading in Romans chapter 5.
Let us hear again a couple of verses.
From Romans 5, verse 1
Therefore since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And from verse 6
You see at just the right time when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
And from verse 8
While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
The tool we take into the harvest field is the Gospel.
The message of God’s unconditional love.
The fact that even though no one deserves it Jesus has already created the opportunity for each person to be in heaven.
Now this is important.
Many people have views on what it means to be Christian.
Ask some of your friends.
I know people who believe the most important thing in being a Christian is to obey the Ten Commandments.
Others believe it is to be perfect or at least look like you are perfect.
Others believe it is particular style or approach to worship, some say organized, others say exciting.
But the message we are to take into the harvest field is the message, “that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”
That God gives all who believe the opportunity eternal life, without them having to do anything else.
And this is something we should wear with a badge of honour.
It should affect how we live in the harvest field.
How we live amongst our friends and family.
That while we were yet sinners Christ died for us…
Christ died for them.
This is a challenge.
But as you live in the harvest field, constantly ask yourself.
As I relate to my friends, my family, my work colleague, my clients, my neighbours, in fact anyone how can I reflect that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
That God wants to gives us something special regardless of who we are, what we have done or how good we have been.
Because living in the harvest means
Not living according to how others live, but living with the badge of honour that
‘While we were still sinners Christ died for us!’
This is the gospel.
This is the tool we take into the harvest field.
And as we live in the harvest field Jesus calls each one of us to have an eye out for the lost.
Listen again to 9:36
When he saw the crowds he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
And 10:6
Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
Interestingly Jesus does not say to the disciples initially go out into unfamiliar territory.
But go to the people you know.
Most of the disciples were Jews, Israelites
and he instructs them to initially go amongst the people they know.
Their family, friends, colleagues, and people they are mixing with,
And as they do to look our for the lost.
So who are the lost in your life?
Who are the lost amongst your family and friends?
It maybe people who feel like a failure.
It maybe people who feel disorientated.
It maybe the person or family going through some crisis.
It maybe people who appear to have given up.
It could also be that trouble maker, the person who is often in trouble or is not fitting in.
And it can also be people who appear to have everything together according to what society expects, they have been totally reliant on themselves but feel there is something missing.
Some years ago I met a person who had a successful job, worked hard, family life was good, they owned their house, on the outside they appeared that everything was going good. However they felt there was something missing, and on reading the scriptures they realized what was missing they could not achieve through hard work. And they felt lost, until they heard the news that God’s future for us, was not conditional on us working hard for God.
The lost may also be the person who used to call or see you frequently and for some reason has stopped seeing you.
Or the person who is off doing many things trying to find themselves.
So as we go to school, to work, down the street, walk around our neighbourhood, go somewhere.
Keep your eyes and ears open for the lost.
As we live in the harvest field Jesus calls us to have our eyes and ears open for the lost.
And when we have our eyes and ears open, at times we will see many lost people.
And it may even seem too big for us.
And this is often a problem,
because frequently we will look at the resources we have now and say this is all we can do.
This is all we have got.
And yet God has brought before our eyes and ears opportunities that are far bigger than us.
And this should not surprise us, because God is far bigger than each one of us.
However our starting point in living in the harvest is not to rely on the resources we have now but to rely on God.
Living in the harvest means relying totally on God.
Listen again to 9:38 and 10:19-20
Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into this harvest field.
But when they arrest you do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking but the Spirit of the Father speaking through you.
Living in the harvest means relying totally on God.
As we live in the harvest field, our starting point is not what we have,
But what is the harvest?
And what is needed.
And then to come to God seeking God to provide.
Remember that everything we have at present comes from God,
and God will provide us with whatever else is needed so we can be his labourers.
And relying on God means spending time with him in prayer…
Not just asking God for things,
but also asking God to open our minds to see His approach to life
and the possibilities that exist.
And relying on God,
means regularly listening to him through worship and studying his scriptures.
And remember the most important thing God gives us is the tool, that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
Living in the harvest means relying on God to provide us with whatever is needed to be effective in the harvest field.
And Jesus also points out the reality that living in the harvest means not everyone will accept us…
Some will and some will not.
In fact some will be very open to the message of God’s unconditional love,
Whilst others even people close to us will reject it, even violently reject it.
Listen again to Jesus speaking from verse 11 in chapter 10 from verse 11
Whatever village or town you enter search for some worthy person and stay at his house until you leave. If the home is deserving let your peace rest on it, if it is not let your peace return to you. If anyone will not listen to you shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town.
And from verse 21
Brother will betray brother to death and father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Jesus is quite open and honest about it.
Unfortunately not everyone will accept the gospel message, but some will.
Now this is an important perspective to have.
Because as we live in the harvest field we can sometimes lose heart in being labourers for God, because we get some knock backs.
These knock backs maybe subtle like…
Oh that’s your religion, but keep it to yourself.
Or I am not interested in that stuff.
Or all Christians are hypocrites.
Or it can be quite vicious.
However Jesus highlights that as his faithful disciples this will occur.
And why?
Because simply the message of Jesus disarms those who believe they are totally self reliant.
It confronts a particular approach to life that on the surface sounds good,
but in reality leads to selfishness and ignoring others,
and often leads people away from God.
And as a result it ignores the fact that everything we have is a result of God being generous.
As you live in the harvest remember not everyone will accept you…
But some will.
So as we live in the harvest field remember that God has given us everything needed to be effective in the harvest field.
That the most important tool we have as we look out for the lost
is the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
That God wishes everyone to take advantage of his gift of eternal life.
And that God will provide all the strength, ideas and energy to help us as labourers in the huge harvest field.
Amen
