Intro:
Good morning. 2 weeks ago, I exhorted the importance of knowing our levels of involvement that we can use in our service to God. Last week, we were exhorted by Ptr. Jeric to value the souls which we are going to harvest for Christ. Over these few weeks, we focused on the traits and values we need in order to have an effective involvement in God’s vineyard.
Today, God wanted us to understand the importance of the Great harvest that God has prepared for us and how are we going to be a part of this harvest. Our exhortation today is entitled…
The Harvest for God Ang Pag-ani Para sa Diyos
John 4:35-38
35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.38I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
ASND
35 Hindi ba sinasabi n'yo na apat na buwan pa bago ang anihan? Ngunit sinasabi ko sa inyo, anihan na. Tingnan n'yo ang mga taong dumarating, para silang mga pananim sa bukid na hinog na at pwede nang anihin! 36 Kayong mga tagapag-ani ay tatanggap ng gantimpala mula sa Dios. At ang mga taong inaani ninyo ay bibigyan niya ng buhay na walang hanggan. Kaya magkasamang matutuwa ang nagtanim ng salita ng Dios at ang nag-ani. 37 Totoo ang kasabihang, ‘Iba ang nagtatanim at iba rin ang umaani.’ 38 Sinugo ko kayo upang anihin ang hindi ninyo itinanim. Iba ang nagtanim ng salita ng Dios, at kayo ang umaani ng kanilang pinaghirapan.”
What did Jesus mean? Ano ang ibig sabihin ni Hesus?
If we read John 4:3-35, Jesus was passing through Samaria on the way to Judaea. When He rested near a well His disciples went in search for food. While they were gone a Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well and Jesus shared the Gospel with her. When His disciples returned with the food, Jesus said to them:
32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
34 “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.
The most important thing to Jesus, more urgent than natural food and the necessities of life, was to do God's will and finish His work. Ang pinakamahalaga bagay sa ating Panginoong Hesus na mas mahalaga pa kaysa sa pagkaing natural at pangangailangan sa buhay ay ang gawin ang kalooban ng Diyos at tapusin ang Kanyang Gawain.
It was at this point in the conversation that Jesus used the example of the natural harvest. He used it to illustrate what He had just told His disciples: The most important thing in life is doing God's will and His work.
What is God’s will and His work? Ano ang kalooban ng Diyos at ang Kanyang gawain?
What is God's will? What is His work? It is revealed in the vision of the harvest.
Jesus told His disciples to lift up their eyes and look at the natural fields of grain ready to harvest.
He used these fields as an example of the spiritual fields of multitudes of men and women around
the world who are ready to be harvested for the Kingdom of God.
The Samaritan woman with whom He had just talked was an example of this great spiritual harvest. She was ready to receive the Gospel and accepted it with great joy. Through "harvesting" this one woman, an entire city came to know Jesus:
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.”
42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
Why did Jesus choose The Harvest? Bakit napili ni Hesus ang Pag-Ani para tukuyin ang Kanyang gawain?
The harvest was an example to which His disciples could easily relate. The history of God's people, Israel, dated back to Adam, who was first to till the ground. Agriculture continued developing to the time of Moses when it became the basis of the economy.
At the time of Christ's ministry, the economy of Israel was centered on agriculture. The disciples of Jesus could easily apply these principles to spiritual harvesting because of their familiarity with them in the natural world. Applying these natural principles spiritually would bring forth an abundant spiritual harvest that we can understand until now.
Now, what can we see on our Harvest for God? Ano ang nais ipakita sa atin ng Pag-Ani natin sa Diyos?
1. Harvest is Real and Sure. v35a Ang Pag-ani ay Totoo at Sigurado.
35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’?
Being an agriculture country like the Philippines, the Israelites are also familiar in harvesting. But what can we say about harvest? There is an appointed time in harvest and that is sure. For us our local crops like rice or corn, have about 6 months before we can harvest. And depending on the climate or weather, the harvest can be affected by it. Ex. (La Nina or El Nino).
We have to remember that there is a harvest waiting to be gathered. Jesus is asking them for they believed that the appointed time to harvest is still 4 months, but what God is saying today is that the harvest is now! I remember few years back, when a preacher will ask “what time is it?” and the congregation will say “it’s harvest time”. Now let me ask ourselves same question today, can we still answer its harvest time? In deed it’s harvest if we know that we have something that we plant.
Please remember, we can't harvest what we don't sow. So, my question is…
What kind of seeds are we planting that we can surely harvest?
• The seed of salvation – we plant these seed to others as we share the Gospel to them. Some already grown up, the others are still growing in their faith and the others are still on the level of receiving the seed without any reactions from them. We remember “The Parable of the Sower” where the seeds feel in a stony part of the road, some fell in not that deep soil, some fell in a thorny soil and some fell in a good soil.
Here we can say that we must ensure that we plant seeds of salvation to everyone until we find a good soil to accept it and let it grow from there.
• The seed of sacrifice – we plant these seed as we give our best to God in terms of our time, talent or skills as well as our resources. We give until we see the results of our giving, or we keep on giving to God as the saying goes “we can give without loving but we cannot love without giving”. There is a seed of sacrifice that everyone must sow whenever God placed us to do it. Look at the example of the widow who gave her last penny. Others gave their surplus but she gave all what she can live for. The seed of sacrifice that Abraham sow to his very own son Isaac already resulted to a great harvest by being the Father of all Nation.
• The seed of service – we plant these seed as we serve God and others through the ministry where God placed us. We learn to be faithful on the small things God has entrusted upon us until God has entrusted us bigger things based on our faithfulness to Him. Walang naglingkod sa Diyos na Kanyang pinabayaan!
Psalm 37:19 “In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine, they will enjoy plenty.”
V25 “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”
Why because the seed of sacrifice always grows upon them so they will always have something to eat.
What more can we see in our Harvest for God?
2. Harvest is Ripe and Sweet. V35b Ang Pag-ani ay Hinog na at Matamis/Masarap
…I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
How do we know if our crops are ready to harvest? If they are already ripe. On this case, God’s timeline of harvest is different from ours. When the world says its 6 months, His timeline is different. Jesus asked them in v35 “Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’?” But Jesus answered them, “open your eyes and look at the field!” What are we looking at now? We need to open up our spiritual eyes and see that the seed we planted is already ripe and tasty!
We don’t want our harvest to be forcedly ripe “hinog sa pilit, o kinalburo”. But how do we judge to say that a certain fruit is okay to be harvested?
• We look at the color and see if its ripe
• We look at the size and check if it’s right to be harvested
• We taste it if it’s delicious and tasty
But what God is saying now is that…
The harvest of salvation is already ripe!
2 Corinthians 6:2 “For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”
Illustration:
There was once a Sunday night watermelon fellowship in a church. They fellowshipped together eating watermelon. During that time, they began a watermelon seed-spitting contest. Unknown to all of them, a few seed made their way into the soil between a brick wall and the driveway. A few weeks later they had watermelon plants growing in the drive. A few months later they were eating watermelons harvested from those plants.
You will never harvest cantaloupes or tomatoes from a watermelon plant. It will always be a watermelon. In the same way, God’s Word always produces spiritual results if we will never stop sowing seeds.
The harvest of sacrifice is already huge!
2 Corinthians 9:6 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
Illustration:
Many years ago, Chinese farmers theorized that they could eat their big potatoes and use the small ones for seed. Consequently, they ate the big potatoes and planted the small potatoes. As a result of this practice over the years, nature eventually reduced the size of all the potatoes they harvested to marbles. A new understanding of the law of life came to them. They learned through this bitter experience that they could not have the best things of life for themselves and use their leftovers for seed. The law of life decreed that the harvest would reflect the planting!
The harvest of service needed more workers!
Matthew 9:37 “37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”
In reality, there is a shortage of workers in the fields of God because no one wanted to work on the fields anymore. No one wanted to come out from their own comfort zones. Ayaw mag tanim at magsakripisyo.
That’s why we needed to be involved! God is saying that everything is already ripe and ready but…
3. The Harvest needs Reapers who are Savvy. V36 Ang Pag-ani ay nangangailangan ng mga mangagagapas na marurunong at nakakaintindi.
Naturally no one has ever desired to get non-competitive workers. As much as possible, we wanted to hire professionals and skilled workers for a specific task. One trait we can think of are savvy workers.
Savvy means being well informed and perceptive. When we say that reapers for God’s harvest must be savvy it means that they should know what they are reaping and able to spot the right fruits or crops to reap.
That’s why Paul said in…
1 Corinthians 9:26 “Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.”
ASND “Kaya nga, may layunin at direksyon ang aking pagtakbo. Kung baga sa isang boksingero, hindi ako sumusuntok sa hangin.”
Don’t get me wrong here but God is not looking for the perfect and professionals but He is looking for those who are faithful and savvy workers for His vineyards! We then need to be faithful in knowing all the skills and talents God has given us in order to be useful in His vineyards so we can sow and reap effectively.
1 Corinthians 4:2 “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”
ASND “At ang katiwala'y dapat maging tapat.”
Matthew 25:23 ““His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
John 4:36 “Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.”
What God needs are quality workers who are willing to work extra mile for God. We remember the Parable of the Workers in Matthew 20:1-16 where the landowner tried to find workers who are willing to work in his field. God was represented by the landowner while the workers were represented by different attitudes in His ministry…
• There were “heard” workers who heard about the task – and have done nothing. They were just informed or the 1st level of our involvement.
• There were hired workers and worked as hireling – and does only what was asked on them
• There were also hard workers – who are willing to work for extra mile without asking them
Who are we among the reapers of God in His field? Are we savvy enough to be His worker?
4. The Harvest has Rewards that are Satisfying. V36-38 Ang Pag-ani ay may nakalaang gantimpalang nagbibigay kasiyahan.
The harvest is not only for savvy reapers but it has a satisfying rewards and results.
36Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.38I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
What are the results we expect for the harvest? Ano ang inaasahan nating resulta ng pag-ani natin?
• Big wage and eternal life – we are satisfied with a wage (crown of life) and the gift of eternal life.
• Our master has enjoyed our work by being faithful and fulfilling our purpose we put a smile on God’s face as
we work in God’s vineyard.
• Harvesting what God has made it to grow. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
1 Corinthians 3:6 “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”
Serving God is both rewarding and satisfying! Who will say amen?
Why is it rewarding and satisfying?
Psalms 126:6 “Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.
ASND “Ang umalis na lumuluha, na may dalang binhi na itatanim ay babalik na masaya, na may dala-dalang mga ani.”
Yung makita lang natin na ang ating mga naani na kaluluwa para sa Diyos ay kasama nating naglilingkod sa Kanya is already rewarding and satisfying!
Sabi nga sa kasabihan “Dito sa lupa ang paghihirap, pero sa langit na ang kapahingahan.” Kaya dapat tanim lang ng tanim!
Are we ready to harvest the rewards of our labor?
Conclusion:
Jesus recognized the urgency represented by the example of the natural harvest. When a crop was ripe it must be harvested immediately or it would be ruined. It was a matter of reap or rot. If the harvest was great and there were not enough workers available to reap it, the crop would be lost.
"Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant." – Robert Louis Stevenson
What kind of seeds we are planting now? Seed of salvation, sacrifice or service?
Our Spiritual Harvest is Real and Sure, Ripe and Sweet however we need Reapers who are Savvy in order to harvest the Rewards that are Satisfying. Let us pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into the field. Are we one of them who are able and available?
Illustration:
The old preacher Vance Havner used to say, "The tragedy of our time is that the situation is desperate but the saints are not."
Three weeks before President John Kennedy was assassinated, he said, "Almost all presidents leave office feeling that their work is unfinished. I have a lot to do, and so little time to do it."
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have much work to do and little time to do it. We must give ourselves to it. The times demand urgent action. Remember, the gospel is only good news if it arrives in time.
We cannot delay the harvest. Get involved and be part of it!
