35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the
harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for
harvest.
- John 4:35, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House) 1984.
Dear Friends in Christ,
If you have any acquaintance at all with life in a farming community, you know that harvest time is unlike any other time of the year. Spring means planting, summer means cultivating... but harvest time in fall is when it all comes together.
Harvest for a farmer means payday, so there is a level of intensity and importance during those weeks that is not duplicated the rest of the year. During the day it’s not uncommon to get stuck behind a monstrous piece of farming machinery slowly rumbling its way up the road to the next field. At night, it’s not unusual to see the headlights of those machines in the distant fields as farmers work round the clock to bring in their crops.
They work with a sense of urgency and always with one eye on the weather because they know that a hard storm or an unplanned hail shower can easily reduce all their hard work to nothing (although the inside joke among farmers is that it really doesn’t matter because they never make any money anyway).
But along with all the hard work and long hours is also a certain amount of satisfaction and feeling of purpose. When the harvest is brought in safely, it means the farmer has done his job. And at least for a little while, all is right with the world.
It’s not difficult to see where I’m going with this introduction. In our text Jesus talks about a harvest of a different kind that is out there. It’s obvious He’s not talking about beans, corn, peas or wheat. He’s talking about a harvest of souls. These are His exact words: Open your eyes and
LOOK AT THE FIELDS! THEY ARE RIPE FOR HARVEST
Implied within that statement and forming the framework for the rest of our message on this Recruitment Sunday are these two directives:
1. Observe the situation around us
Be a part of the harvesting process
Let me give you the context in which Jesus spoke these words. John chapter 4 begins with the account of Jesus and a Samaritan woman at the well. If you remember this incident, Jesus gradually led this woman to an understanding that He was indeed the Son of God and long promised Messiah she knew would someday come. After this conversation, the Samaritan woman left and began telling other people from her town what had happened. Later in the chapter we are told that many people came to faith in Jesus as their Savior through her testimony.
Shortly after she had left him, the disciples returned from wherever they were and urged Jesus to eat some food. Using that request as the basis for a spiritual object lesson, Jesus told them that He already had food, saying that His food "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."
The work of Jesus, of course, was to save the world (read: you and me) from the damning consequences of sin. Jesus finished this work through living a perfectly sinless life as the substitute for all mankind, dying on the cross to pay the penalty for the world’s sin, and then rising from the dead three days later as proof that He had successfully accomplished His mission.
Doing that saving work would be Jesus alone, but spreading the news of that saving work to others would be the task of His followers. So Jesus tells His disciples to be observant and to view the world around them as field ripe for harvest. "Look at the fields!" He tells them, "They are ripe for harvest."
Certainly these words can be understood in their historical context. For centuries, through countless prophets and prophecies found in Scripture, God’s people had been told about the Savior who was to come. More recently (in relation to our text), John the Baptist had appeared on the scene preparing the hearts of the people to meet their Savior. In that sense, the fields had been planted, cultivated and were now "ripe for harvest."
But these words of Jesus certainly do not apply only to first century Palestine. The fields around us today are also ripe for a spiritual harvest. And it is important that we as 21st century disciples do the same as He commanded the Twelve: Look at the fields! And when we do, we will see that they are ripe for harvest.
How do we know this? What are the signs? Well, we can always start with statistics. A published report from October 1999 has this to say: In 1900 we had 27 churches for every 10,000 Americans. By 1950 there were only 17 churches for every 10,000 people. Now there are fewer than 11 churches per 10,000 Americans. Some 60 to 65 million people over 18 are unchurched – one third of the adult population." What does that tell us? Our own backyard is a mission field. We are living in a field that is ripe for harvest.
This is isn’t to say that people aren’t interested in spiritual matters or their spiritual lives. Because they are. At the end of the 20th century and now at the beginning of the 21st there seems to be a resurgence of spirituality. But spirituality is not necessarily Christianity, and many often end up looking for all the right things in all the wrong places. They know there is something out there that brings comfort and balance and meaning and purpose to life, but they just don’t know where to find it...
Listen to what a British writer by the name of Jonathan Nicholas writes (I came across it quoted in a Christian periodical). I assume he is speaking for his generation, or at least the segment of people he identifies with. "We don’t believe in anybody anymore, or in anything. We’re awash on the sea of life, and nobody seems to have a moral compass. We need someone to engage us, to embrace us, to fire us with commitment and candor, for fill us passion, hope and trust. We need, in short, a savior."
And we’ve got the savior they need. His name is Jesus Christ. He is the way and the truth and life.
The field is out there, and it is ripe for harvest.
Let me give you another illustration, this time from the Bible. In Acts 17 we find the Apostle Paul on Mars Hill in the Greek city of Athens. Do you recall the incident? He’s walking about and sees all kinds of altars and statues and temples devoted to various different gods. But then he comes across an altar with this inscription upon it: "To an unknown God."
What did that mean? It meant that these highly intelligent and successful Greeks knew instinctively that there was something more. The very fact they had erected that altar was a testimony that something was missing in their lives. And Paul used that as a springboard to tell those people about Jesus: "Now what you worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you."
We live in a world in which people worship at various different altars. Maybe it’s the altar of greed or materialism. Maybe it’s an altar not initially of their choosing but one they return to because of the emptiness inside of them, such as drug, alcohol or sexual addiction. Maybe it’s the altar of pleasure or power or recognition or "the good life." People try to fill the hole in their souls in all kinds of different ways, but at the same time they know it’s not working. In the quiet of the night or at a moment’s rest from their frenetic pace, they are filled with an intense longing and loneliness. And we’ve got to believe they are scared.
The answer, again, is Jesus Christ. In the words of the hymnist, "Jesus, Jesus, only Jesus, can my heartfelt longing still."
But, the Apostle Paul asks in Romans 10, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?" Or to keep it within the illustration of our text, who will bring this harvest of souls in?
The answer is: We will. That’s our job. As it was the disciples’ responsibility back then, it is our responsibility now. And there is something that every one of us can do.
I’d like to address my next thoughts to the young people in our congregation – especially those of you are in grade school or high school right now... as well as those of you might be older but still uncertain of the direction you wish your life to take...
In the years to come you will have lots of decisions to make. Some will be easy and some will be hard. As you make your decisions, may I boldly ask that you give some consideration to full time work in the church, either as a pastor or a teacher or a staff minister? We need strong Christians in every walk and vocation in life, but maybe the Lord has full time work in the church in store for you. Therefore, could I ask that in the future as you, with God’s help, plan out your life, you give this some prayerful thought and attention? Fine Christian young people will make a difference in our world regardless of their station in life, but the Lord always needs full time people of faith in the front lines to bring in the harvest. And maybe you’re one of them...
Now let me address you who are parents or grandparents... Could I ask you to encourage your children and grandchildren to give worthy consideration to a life of church work? Could I ask you to remember that, outside the Holy Spirit Himself, you have the greatest spiritual impact and influence upon your child, and that your words and prayers go a long way in their spiritual formation? Could I ask that you hold the public ministry in high regard (regardless of the flawed people who are in it), and elevate it as a high and noble calling for your child to consider?
Now let me address all of us, regardless of our age, gender, or family situation in life... Could I ask you to pray for all the young people in our church body and especially those in our own congregation who are studying for full time work in the church? Pray that the Lord will keep them firm and strong in their resolve to serve Him in this manner, and that in the future He will work great spiritual blessings through them.
Could I also ask you to pray for those who are now in the front lines – our pastors, teachers, staff ministers, but perhaps especially those who are serving in home or world missions? The life and work of a missionary can sometimes be difficult and discouraging and lonely, especially for those in distant lands or isolated places in our country. Pray that they see themselves as they are – harvesters for the Lord, and pray that they do not become weary or lose heart if the harvest doesn’t come in as fast as they, humanly speaking, might like.
Jesus tells us: "Look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." And there is something we all can do...
So with the prayer that this will indeed be our prayer, we close this morning with these words from our opening hymn:
Lord of the living harvest that ripens o’er the plain,
Where angels soon will gather their sheaves of golden grain,
Accept our hands to labor, our hearts to trust and love,
And be with us to hasten your kingdom from above. Amen.