It’s Time to Harvest: pray for workers. MT 9:36-38
1. Jesus Saw. 2. The workers are few. 3. We are commanded to pray.
Jesus declared, "The fields are ripe, and the harvest plentiful. It’s time to begin reaping." At that moment, the great, final spiritual harvest began. It started as a harvest among the Jews and Gentiles of Jesus’ generation. And this same harvest will go on until Christ returns. What did Jesus see in his time that caused him to say, "The harvest is ready, so now is the time to reap"? Did he see a spiritual awakening in Israel? Was there revival in the synagogues? Were priests turning back to God? Were scribes and Pharisees being convicted? What evidence was there that the harvest was ripe? The Gospels don’t reveal much evidence of any spiritual move toward God. If anything, they show the opposite. Jesus was mocked in the synagogues. The nation’s spiritual leaders rejected him, questioning his integrity and divinity. One religious crowd tried to throw him over a cliff. As for the multitudes, they were em-broiled in confused despair. "When he saw them...they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd." Here was a society that was fearful, stressed out, depressed. The people ran about wildly, like scattered sheep, looking for help anywhere they could find it. Yet it was at this very point of great distress that Christ declared, "The fields are ripe, and the harvest is plentiful."
Do you think Jesus’ words about a ripe harvest apply today? Where do we see evidence that fields are white and ready to be reaped? Are nations repenting? Is there a great stirring in our town? Do you see the organized church waking up? Are they hungering for revival and seeking Christ any more? Is there a cry for holiness in our generation? I haven’t seen these happening. Jesus was moved by the sad conditions he saw on every side. He looked and people were plagued with distress. His tears were over the hardness and spiritual blindness he saw. Here were a people headed for judgment, with no peace, only fear and depression. Jesus actually gives us a picture of what the last days would look like. Now, this period began at his ascension, and it will end only when he comes again. We’re getting very close to that point now. And Jesus described it to his disciples when they asked him what signs to look for. They wanted to know the condition of things as the very last days were approaching.
Christ answered by speaking of famines, earthquakes, tribulations, nations divided. False prophets and false christs would deceive many and lead multitudes astray. Believers would be hated for even mentioning Christ’s name. And the love of many would grow cold, with some falling away because of the bold increase of sin and lawlessness. Jesus was describing the most anxious, depressed, stressed-out generation of all time.
Are we seeing this? Think about it: this generation is full of anxiety and worry. Multitudes are fearful as they watch incredible disasters unfold: hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, mudslides, tornados. Entire nations tremble with fear over the threat of terrorism. Did you know that heart failure is the number-one killer in the world today?
Hear Jesus’ words: "The fields are white. The harvest is plentiful." He’s telling his church, "People are ready to hear. This is the time to believe for a harvest. Now is the time for you to start reaping." Christ is the Lord of the harvest. And if he declares the harvest is ready, we must believe it. It doesn’t matter how wicked this generation becomes. It doesn’t matter how powerful Satan seems to have grown. Our Lord is saying to us, "Stop focusing on the difficulties around you. It’s time for you to see that the harvest is ready."
Jesus understood man’s heart, knowing we forget God in times of prosperity. Christ knew that in times of distress and calamity, people are forced to face eternity. Suffering, fear and hard times ripen people for hearing and receiving the gospel.
This truth has been demonstrated throughout the history of God’s people. Moses reprimanded his generation, saying, "God led you. He increased your numbers. And he greatly blessed you, giving you green fields, honey, butter, milk, sheep, oil, fruit. But you grew rich and rebelled. You lightly esteemed the Rock of your salvation, and forsook him."
Trouble, distress and perplexity have always labored a cry for help. This has been the pattern throughout the centuries. You remember what happened after the twin towers
in New York fell: churches were packed. Prayer meetings were held in Yankee Stadium. Congressional leaders gathered on the steps of the Capitol in Washington, praying and singing, "God Bless America." For a season, God was the talk of the nation. Fear and distress had made people think about finding truth. In Indonesia and Sri Lanka, radical Islamics had refused to allow any outsiders into their territory. But after the tsunami disaster, many opened their doors to Christian relief workers. Why? God saw fields that were white and ready to be harvested.
Think about the cataclysmic events of recent world history. The Communists in Russia thought they had rid their country of God. But Jesus had said to them, "All you did was help the harvest." Christ is alive and well in Russia today. China also tried to outlaw God, only to ripen a harvest of millions of believers. Recently, the Ukraine fell out of corrupt hands, and is being led by a man who speaks of Christ.
This same principle was true throughout Israel’s history. When Moses told Pharaoh, "Let my people go," it was because God had announced harvest time. The moment had come for Israel’s deliverance from captivity. Pharaoh represents Satan’s demonic system, including false religions and oppression that hold people under bondage.
Centuries later, when Jesus announced the ripe harvest in Jerusalem, he knew judgment was about to come. Titus and his army would invade the city, and 1.2 million people would be killed. Many would be hung on crosses, and the city itself would be burned to the ground.
How did Jesus describe the calamity that was to come? "Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" MT 24:21. Yet, before that calamity came, it would be time for the harvest.
The concept of "harvest" was central to the church-growth movement of the 1980s. More than two decades ago, church-growth experts began focusing on new methods to bring in the harvest. They declared, "The church is no longer relevant to modern society. It’s too traditional, too out of touch, and needs to be updated. We have to become more contemporary. We can no longer afford to think in small terms." So the 1980s were proclaimed to be "The Decade of Harvest." And out of this mentality was born the "seeker sensitive," mega-church movement. Almost overnight, huge churches began to spring up all over the country. Many such churches suddenly had congregations numbering in the thousands or ten thousands. Some built huge campuses resembling shopping malls, including restaurants and other conveniences. What was called "narrow thinking" was now replaced by corporate thinking. The people’s morals were no longer to be challenged. Instead, the church was to become "need-centered," ministering to people’s needs as they stated them on surveys. Worship services incorporated the latest technologies, "contemporizing" the music and offering theatrical productions. Pastors illustrated their sermons with film clips from the most recent movies, some of them R-rated. It looked as if the great harvest was underway. But the "Decade of Harvest" proved to be building on the wrong foundation. A pastor named William Chadwick had led a church that thrived on these principles. But over time, he grew convicted about being so numbers-focused. He authored a book titled Stealing Sheep, in which he cites some alarming statistics. The most remarkable figure was that, in ten years’ time, there was no appreciable growth among evangelical churches. Instead, mega-churches were made up mostly of transfers from smaller churches. People came for the exciting new contemporary worship and the programs catering to baby boomers. Worse, the mega-church movement had an awful effect on smaller churches. These didn’t have the resources to compete with huge churches, which offered all kinds of bells and whistles with their need-centered programs. Slowly, smaller churches’ numbers dwindled, and many ended up shutting their doors.
A recent study by the respected Barna Research Group shows that the church isn’t just stagnating, it’s growing worse. One alarming fact is that fewer baby boomers are attending church than before. Simply put, the church-growth movement has ended up going backward instead of forward. There are only a small number of Christians who have ever won a soul to Christ. This brings Jesus’ words up to date that "the laborers are few." How do we build a strong, growing church?
Imagine this scene as Jesus was ready to go to heaven.
Suppose that just before Jesus ascended - as he envisions the church and the harvest prior to his return - he foresees a falling away. His soul is grieved, because he sees rampant backsliding. Instead of reaping a white harvest, his people spend their time and energy seeking worldly success and material things. So Jesus says to the Father, "They won’t get the harvest in. All the white fields lay dormant. I’m going to send a host of angels to do the reaping." The Father agrees, and suddenly thousands of celestial beings appear on the earth, glowing with supernatural radiance. What a sight this would be: otherworldly beings, clothed in glory, speaking in churches and in public. You see them interviewed by newspaper reporters, on the radio and on TV. They talk of the Cross, the Resurrection, the Ascension, Christ’s love, and a final judgment to come. And they speak with such eloquence and conviction that everyone is enthralled. Now suppose that after a short time, these same radiant angels become enthralled with the world around them. They’re taken in by fine foods, material goods, wealth and security. And soon they start striving for success, fame and fortune. Before long, they become jealous of each other, showing anger, pride, envy and covetousness. In other words, they become just like the church today! I ask you, how much influence would they have on the world? How could they expect to bring in a harvest, being so caught up in this world? Their testimony would be discounted. And they would be drained of all spiritual power, going about discouraged, fearful and doubting. Tell me, why would anyone want my gospel, if they saw me in this kind of state, stressed out and joyless? Why would they believe my message, "Jesus is sufficient, my everything, my constant supply," if I’m always fearful and worried, with no peace? No one would want to listen to a word I said. Instead, they’d wonder, "What difference is your Christ? He doesn’t seem to be much of a physician, if you’re always in this kind of condition."
Is there any supposing why we don’t experience a great harvest of souls. Jesus made it plain: "The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few." Yet, why are there so few laborers? Churches today are packed with believers who claim Christ is their very life. Millions of dollars are spent on building worship centers everywhere. The truth is, if we’re not capable of reaping souls - if our lives don’t reflect the transforming power of the gospel we preach, we have discounted ourselves as laborers. Our walk with Christ should offer proof to the world that God’s promises are true.
As laborers, we are the harvest instruments in the Lord’s hand. In the days of Christ, such an instrument was a scythe, a long, curved, single-edged blade with a long handle. It was forged by a blacksmith, who put it into a fire, then placed it on an anvil, where he pounded and bent it into shape. Then the whole process was repeated again and again, until the cutting edge was filed with a rough-edged surface. The parallel is clear: God is forging laborers. He isn’t just pounding away at sin. And this forging process explains why the laborers are few. The majority of churchgoers are like the thousands who volunteered to go with Gideon in the Old Testament. God saw fear in many of them, knowing they wouldn’t endure the fire, the pounding, the hard times. And out of the thousands who followed Gideon, only three hundred were chosen. The same thing happens today. Those who are truly called to harvest are called to endure the refining, shaping fires and the continual hammering. Yet not many do.
Jesus knew what we were going to face in these last days: a generation steeped in sin far more than any other...stress and loneliness such as has never been experienced by man...financial disasters, rampant divorce, militant homosexuality, immorality that would bring a blush to even the worst sinners just thirty years ago.
This is why Christ seeks laborers who have submitted to the fires and forgings. He wants a people who’ll stand before the world and proclaim:
"God is with me! Satan can’t stop me. Just look at my life. I’ve been through fire after fire, pounded again and again. But I’ve come through it all more than a conqueror through Christ, who lives in me. What I have preached has worked for me. I am living proof Jesus is all-sufficient!"
