Spiritual Harvesting 101 Series

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.