Spiritual Harvesting 101
John 4:35-42
John chapter 4 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. I have many favorites. But I like this one because of the harvest in it. A whole city trusts in Jesus. That's an impressive harvest. If only we could have a harvest like that.
In this chapter Jesus tells his disciples how to harvest. It is like a beginner's course in harvesting, Spiritual Harvesting 101. We will pull five points out of this passage.
1. See When It's Time to Harvest
John 4:35 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.
The whole village is coming out to see Jesus, and His disciples want Him to eat. That is what is happening when Jesus says this. They don't see the harvest. It is right there in front of their eyes, but they don't see it. They don't know when to harvest.
Knowing when to harvest is a very important part of farming. I am no farmer, so I don't know the details about this. I don't know what a farmer looks for, but I know that when harvest time is near, the farmer often goes to the field to see if it is ready. He wants to harvest at the right time.
When we lived in Lorraine, Kansas, we were surrounded by wheat fields. Lorraine is a small town in the middle of a field. When we went anywhere, we drove past wheat fields. When harvest time came, you could see the different colors of the different fields. The whiter they got the closer they were to harvest.
When it comes to spiritual things, it is just as important to know when it is time to harvest. Open your eyes. Look at the fields. Some are white. Some are ripe for harvest. Do you see it? If you do, then:
2. Harvest when It's Time
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 does a farmer do when he sees that it is time to harvest? Does he go inside, turn the TV on, put a movie in, and settle down for a lazy afternoon? No. He goes to the barn and gets the combine out. He calls up all of his help, all of his family, and they start harvesting. They harvest all night if they have to.
Do you see what it says here? The one who reaps, who harvests, draws a wage and harvests a crop. What happens if the reaper doesn’t reap? There is no wage, because there is no harvest. No harvest. No money. No harvest and the sower does not get paid. The sower is not happy. The sower wasted his time if there is no harvest. But if there is a harvest, the reaper and the sower can be glad together. They are going to get paid.
The crop must be harvested.
How many crops have been ruined because when it was time for them to be harvested, no one did anything? What if Jesus hadn't talked to the woman at the well? What if He had taken a food break when His disciples wanted Him to? How many Samaritans would have just gone back home? How many souls would have been lost?
We need to harvest when it is time to harvest. I can’t overemphasize just how important this is. Harvest when it’s time. Don't think that someone else will harvest. Don't think that no one needs to harvest. Don't think that you can put the harvest off. Harvest when it is time.
3. Make Sure Someone Plants
John 4:37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.
John 4:38 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.”
One sows and another reaps. Some Bible scholars say that Jesus both sowed and reaped in this story. That is not what Jesus said. He said that one sows and another reaps. He said that others have done the hard work.
We don't know who sowed the seed to the Samaritans, but someone did. These people knew who the Messiah was. They had a worship structure in place and they were looking for the Messiah. Someone taught them these things and got them to believe them. That was the sower.
It goes without saying, if no one plants, there will be no harvest. As Jesus said here, the planting is hard work. AWANA is planting. Our Youth ministry is planting. Our Facebook page is planting. There are other things done here that are planting, but there is so much more that needs to be done.
We haven't even touched our community. I define this church’s community as the block of land that extends roughly one mile out from this church. From Seneca to West St. And from Central to Kellogg. This is where our church should be concentrating our sowing.
There is good soil in this area. It need seeds. This should be a big part of what we do.
If we don't plant, there will be no harvest. We must make sure that we are planting. This is important.
As you are planting, the time will come for you to harvest. What do you do then? How do you harvest? Two methods are given in this passage. The first is using your testimony.
4. Use Your Testimony to Harvest
John 4:39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
The woman told people about what had happened to her. She had met this man. He is the Messiah. “He told me everything I ever did,” she said. From this alone many trusted in Jesus.
Each of us have a testimony. Each of us have met Jesus and our lives have been changed. Isn't this true? Wasn't it a good thing? Wasn't it a great thing? We should be telling others about it.
A testimony is easy to construct and easy to tell. You already know the content. You are just telling what happened to you. That is easy to do. It can consist of three parts: your life before Jesus, how you turned to Jesus, and your life after Jesus. It is that simple.
You should have your testimony ready to use at any time. You never know when an opportunity will present itself. When it does, wah-lah. Give your testimony.
That is the first method of harvesting. The second is to tell what Jesus said.
5. Use Jesus' Words to Harvest
John 4:40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.
John 4:41 And because of his words many more became believers.
John 4:42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
First there were people who trusted because of what the woman said. Then people went to see Jesus and talk with Him. They liked what He said. They urged Him to stay. He stayed for two days. Because of Jesus' words many more became believers. Some of the ones who had trusted because of what the woman had said, when they heard what Jesus said, their trust was strengthened.
After giving your testimony or in place of giving your testimony, tell what Jesus said. You don't have to read a bunch of verses. You don't have to give a long plan of salvation. Just share a verse or two and explain it to them. Here are some verses.
John 1:11 and 12.
John 1:11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
John 1:12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
The picture is clear here. Jesus came to His own, His people, the Jews. The Jews did not receive Him. They killed Him. But to those who receive Him, He will make them His children. They must believe in Him which means to trust in Him. If you trust Jesus, you will become His child. He will take care of you. You will go to heaven when you die.
Another set of verses is John 3:16 through 18.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
There are some words here that can be changed to be more accurate to the Greek's meaning. They are believe (trust), perish (ruined), condemn (judge), and save (rescue). So changing these words, these verses would read:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever trusts in him shall not be ruined but have eternal life.
John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but to rescue the world through him.
John 3:18 Whoever trusts in him is not judged, but whoever does not trust stands judged already because they have not trusted in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Do you want to be judged by God, judged for your sins and judged for all the things you do wrong? Or do you want to be rescued by Him. The key is to trust Jesus. Trust Jesus to give you eternal life. Trust Jesus to help you through life.
These are the words of Jesus.
Harvesting is as simple as reading and explaining these verses.
Trust in Jesus begins your Christian life, but it also should be all through your Christian life. When you have a problem, don't try to solve it yourself, don't look to others to solve it, don't just give up. Trust Jesus. Trust the Father. Don't you believe that they exist? Don’t you think that they have some type of control? If so, trust them. They will take care of it. I do not stand here as someone who knows the solutions. I do not stand here as your Pastor, as someone who can do everything. I stand here as someone who trusts Jesus to rescue, to solve my problems. I go to Him often for guidance. If anyone builds this church, it will be God. Upon this rock I stand. Upon this rock we all should stand. Trust Jesus. Trust the Father. That is one of the core teachings of the Bible. How it that we don’t do it?
Conclusion
Spiritual Harvesting 101. Here are the points that we have made. 1) See when it's time to harvest. 2) Harvest when it's time. 3) Make sure someone plants. 4) Use your testimony to harvest. And 5) use Jesus' words to harvest.
There is peace and contentment in my Father’s house today
Lots of food on the table and no one is turned away
There is singing and laughter as the hours pass by
But a hush calms the singing as the Father sadly cries
My house is full, but my field is empty
Who will go and work for Me today
It seems my children all want to stay around my table
But no one wants to work in my field
No one wants to work in my field
Push away from the table
Look out through the window pane
Just beyond this house of plenty
Lies a field of golden grain
And it’s white unto harvest
But the reapers, where are they?
In the house
Oh, can't the children
Hear the Father sadly say
My house is full, but my field is empty
Who will go and work for Me today
It seems my children all want to stay around my table
But no one wants to work my field
No one wants to work in my field
There are fields out beyond these doors. Will the people of Meridian Avenue Baptist Church stay inside at the table or will they go out into the fields and work? There are a bunch of seeds that need to be planted. And there are fields that need to be harvested.
