We are reminded of harvest at home because our apples ripen and are harvested. Many churches have harvest services when they thank God for the harvest and have a lovely tradition of bringing food to church and give it to those in need. In Llanelli we're introducing a Foodbank Box to the hall and we're going to be talking about helping others.
As a church we've traditionally had a deep affinity with the harvest as we used to focus on the Holy Days which were based around the seasons in Israel. Please turn to Exodus 23 v14-16 this gives an example of how the Israelites Holy Days were embedded in the harvest seasons.
Exo 23:14 "Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
Exo 23:15 "Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt. "No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
Exo 23:16 "Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the first fruits of the crops you sow in your field. "Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.
We've never traditionally had harvest services as such with food collections, however we were very familiar with the concept of the first fruits of the harvest, and the main harvest itself which is to follow.
Through our greater understanding and the shift in focus over the last 20 years, I believe that the topic of harvest has been strengthened rather than diminished although not specifically in name. One clue is that over the last few years the autumn festival has gone from being called the Feast of Tabernacles to the autumn "Harvest" festival but there has never to my knowledge been an official pronouncement or explanation.
Today I want to write about Harvest - not combined harvesters or apples, I'd like to talk about the harvest of people that Jesus talked about.
Jesus talked about the harvest in Matt 9v37-38 and Luke 10v2. In both places he said.
"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Jesus referred to the world as a harvest field which is plentiful. There are billions of us in the world who need the gospel and relatively few of us who are believers. You could call it the Church's market place if we were in the business of selling. The number of people who are believers is relatively small and the number of believers who make the effort to come to church is smaller still compared to the population at large. You would think therefore that as the gospel is a) good news and b) a matter of life and death, that it would be an easy task to go into the world and sell the gospel message. Of course we are not a business and we're not into sales. What Jesus makes clear in this scripture is that the harvest field is His not ours and we ask Him to send workers into His field. It's not our job to recruit workers and it's not our field to go and harvest. God is in charge.
Let's start at the beginning. For there to be a harvest you first have to sow the seeds.
In Mark 4 and Luke 8 Jesus acknowledges that when seeds are sown they don't always fall on fertile ground.
Mar 4:2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
Mar 4:3 "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
Mar 4:4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
Mar 4:5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
Mar 4:6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
Mar 4:7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
Mar 4:8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times."
Mar 4:9 Then Jesus said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear."
Mar 4:10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.
Mar 4:11 He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables
Mar 4:12 so that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"
Mar 4:13 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?
Mar 4:14 The farmer sows the word.
Mar 4:15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
Mar 4:16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
Mar 4:17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
Mar 4:18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;
Mar 4:19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Mar 4:20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown."
This is in some ways discouraging as you know that many of the seeds come to nothing, but on the other hand it's encouraging to know that it's no reflection on us. Jesus warns us that this is the case so we carry on regardless. We are going to leaflet the area around the hall in Llanelli. I don't expect the leaflets to miraculously save anyone from the jaws of hell, however it will raise awareness that we exist and will hopefully make non attending Christians think about supporting a church locally and join in Jesus work where He's calling people by pointing them to a reference point locally. We'll see what happens as a result.
Let's look at 1 Cor 3v6-9.
1Co 3:6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
1Co 3:7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
1Co 3:8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.
1Co 3:9 For we are co-workers in God's service; you are God's field, God's building.
It is God who makes the seed grow and when you look at this in the context of first fruits and the elect, it is God who chooses who to reveal the gospel to at any particular time. We however are human and of course we want to see the result of our efforts bringing thousands of people to Christ now. Books are written about how to do this that or the other in order to find that magic bullet that will bring revival. Of course humanly we're missing the point.
So why can't we do it on the back of our own efforts?
We're in a spiritual battle zone here. Jesus has done everything necessary for people to be saved and he holds out the gift of life but people have free will and need to realise firstly that they have a problem which Jesus offers them a solution to.
I used to think that the problem was apathy but I was corrected by a Vicar back in the summer who said no - apathy is when people know something to be true and don't do anything about it, or can't be bothered to engage with it - this may be true of Christians who don't attend, but not for the general population. The reality is that people don't see the gospel to be relevant in their lives - they are not apathetic - they have no interest or engagement in the first place. Church is not for me - it's for the old people in their Sunday best.
This is the harvest that we're dealing with, especially in the western world. I'll give you an example. We have a very productive apple tree in the garden. An apple is happily living in its tree, it has good days and bad days, enjoying the sun some days and being buffeted by wind and rain on others. The apple is nice and secure, connected by a stalk, it has enough nourishment so doesn't need anything, and it grows and matures until it gets to a certain size and falls to the ground. Then it rots away or gets eaten by slugs and worms.
That's what most people lives are like in the western world. They are comfy and relatively affluent & secure. They eat drink and are merry until they die.
An apple on a tree has no understanding of it's potential as a tasty snack, or a crumble or pie, or even a pint of cider into which it is transformed after it's been harvested!! The end result i.e. the glass of cider has no relevance to the apple which is clinging onto the tree. This is the problem we face, for most people they are like the apples, they have no spiritual awareness that there is something greater being offered to them. They will be aware that Christians believe in heaven but what has that got to do with me they think. How could such a wonderful gift be ignored by millions?
2 Cor 4v4 says that the god of this world blinds people.
2Co 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2Co 4:5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
2Co 4:6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ.
Only God can remove that blindfold and has done for believers. When people are in darkness they need the light of God to penetrate the darkness and show them the direction to go. Here's the thing - we have no idea who God is working on and revealing the gospel message in their hearts right now. If someone is being called, they need to connect with the body of Christ.
Lets look at John 1v3-5
Joh 1:3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
Joh 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Last week when preparing a different message I noticed something about this passage which is relevant today. Notice the tense of v4 and v5 are different. v4 Past tense, v5 present tense. In Jesus was life which was the light of mankind - this refers to his creative powers in the context of v3, but this did not stop at creation - v5 shows His light shines in the darkness NOW through creation and through His body - us - and all the acts of love that people do right now. He's alive and well providing light in the darkness that is Cardiff!! When you see the foodbank donations, and other charities helping the homeless, addiction rehab centres, Christians Against Poverty etc you see the light of Jesus shining and you see the personal contact with Jesus love that can act as a catalyst when there are gaps in blindfolds of the enemy.
It's our job to be here to represent Jesus. It's not our job to sell a product or to use snazzy marketing to hook people in, until someone realises they need God, they are blinded to anything we do. But that is no excuse to do nothing - just like a harvest, it won't grow unless someone sows the seed. As we've read, Paul said he sowed and Apollos watered but God made it grow. The seed needs to fall on ground that God has prepared, so it will grow. That is what we should be praying for - that the seeds we sow through our lives make contact with the people God is calling. It's a phrase we hear from HQ - joining in the work that Jesus is already doing in the world. As we've read being co-workers. It's His work and we are joining in not the other way around as we'd like it to be.
Historically we have seen revivals when thousands have accepted life in a dramatic way. The 1904 Welsh revival is an example, and we all deep down pray that there will be another revival and that we'll be part of it. More recently we've seen the Cwmbran outpouring which saw many people accept the gift of life. They never claimed it was a revival but it caused great excitement over the several months in which they had daily meetings. During times like this we see God moving powerfully and the blind folds falling off many at a time, so we know God's power to do this at a time he chooses.
When it happens the churches need to be ready and welcoming.
When we see people, we should see them as God's beloved children. We should not condemn people for the problems they face even if it is self inflicted. What if a drug addict walked in between hits after having a moment of clarity. Would we welcome him or her with a cup of tea and a biscuit afterwards? What about Muslims in town - are we afraid of them or do we see them as people who God loves? As I said last time, one German church has seen over 800 people convert from Islam. We call ourselves "Welcome" because we should welcome anyone here who God is calling no matter what their background or circumstance. The harvest is plentiful and we are only a small group. Let's pray not only that God will open people's eyes, but that He will send a team to help.
So what about the people who do not accept the gift of life and repent?? The bible clearly shows that people have free will and therefore God's wrath is reserved for those who reject his grace. Whilst we believe Jesus died for all, and his sacrifice was universal, people for whatever reason can still reject it. Revelation 14-16 is clear that all sorts of bad things are destined for the remnant of people who do. But - this is only for those who remain unrepentant. Rev 16v9.
Rev 16:9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.
The implication here is that even at this last minute, if people did repent and glorify Him, they would be saved by God's grace. We have no idea how many will remain unrepentant after all this and take part in the ultimate battle when Satan and the forces of evil are bound? We'd like to think based on scriptures such as Phillipians 2 that everyone will eventually bow before him.
Php 2:9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
Php 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Php 2:11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Rev 20 shows the that there are more than one resurrection. Just like there was the first fruits of the harvest and a main harvest, we see the elect, the believers raised before the rest. We have traditionally believed that people who have not believed in this life will have a chance to repent at the great white throne judgement and under our new understanding we hold to the belief that death is no barrier to God's love and that at some point everyone will be confronted by God's grace. This is the good news - whilst we believe now and sow the seeds so others who God is calls can too - the main harvest is yet to come.
To conclude, understanding the harvest gives us a more compassionate outlook of life when we see suffering around us. Instead of condemning people to hell for the choices they make or the circumstances imposed on them, see them as beloved children of God who He loves and who Jesus died for. It may not be someone's time right now, at the point when we have contact with them, it may be yet to come, but at some point Jesus light will pierce the dark veil that is cloaking their eyes and they will respond in one of two ways. Let's pray that all will accept the gift of life when it's their time to be harvested.
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