The Whitened Harvest FieldsThere is an old children's story about a “Little Red Hen” who decided to bake some bread. After asking all of her animal friends to help with various tasks like gathering the wheat, grinding the wheat, kneading the dough, and baking the bread; she finally did the whole thing herself because no one was interested in helping. Yet after she had baked such a wonderful loaf of bread it seemed that everyone was willing to help eat it. But the Little Red Hen was wise; she told her friends that she would be enjoying the whole loaf for herself!
Sadly, many Christians have adopted the same attitude as the Little Red Hen’s animal friends. The Lord calls each of us to the harvest fields for work. But it seems there aren’t very many volunteers. The work is hard – and it takes a valuable investment of time, talents, and resources. Too often we see neither the importance of the labor nor the consequence of our lack of it. Funny though, isn’t it, how once a ministry shows success, it seems everyone wants a piece of the "wonderfully baked bread.” Jesus said:
What exactly do the words “whitened harvest” mean? It means that it is nearly past harvest time. A white harvest in the wheat field means that the waving, golden grain is no longer golden, but even the stock is turning white. Being overripe, the head is opening up and grain is falling to the ground. Does it seem sometimes that the world around us is “falling to the ground?”
Our falling world – our harvest field – is Mower County; and it is ready for harvest! Souls are falling to the ground. Like Jesus, we need to pray for our whitened harvest fields, asking God to move us with compassion for the unsaved. Matthew 9:36 illustrates for us the concern Jesus has for the lost: “But when He saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” Do you see people fainted and scattered? And do you share the compassion of Jesus for them?
Say not ye, ‘There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest?’ Behold I say unto you, ‘Lift up your eyes, and look on the field; for they are white already to harvest.’ ” -- John 4:35
Just as there is a right time for farmers to bring in the harvest, there is a right time to begin the harvest of precious souls. And before the fields are ready to harvest, they must be plowed and sowed and tilled. There are teachable moments -- receptive times in the hearts of the unsaved. We need to understand this and prepare accordingly.
As we go into the harvest season of 2005 here at Crane Chapel, we will begin to understand and prepare as we begin a sermon series on The Whitened Harvest Fields. We will learn from our Lord the Need to harvest souls. We’ll study and absorb the Master’s teaching as He Looks at and deals with all types of souls in the whitened harvest fields. We’ll understand the need for Compassion. We’ll study about the necessity of Praying for our harvest field. We’ll examine scriptural commands to Go into the fields and consider our role as Workers. We’ll learn and understand that there will be Weeping as we go into the fields: “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy….” --Psalm 126: 5-6. And finally, we will appreciate the Sure Result of our work in the harvest fields. Isaiah 55:11 tells us, “So is my word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
As we move through this series on the harvest of souls, we will be singing the words of a beautiful hymn. The words seem so appropriate to our study. Let these words resonate in your heart over the next weeks and pray that God will indeed “lay some soul upon your heart.”
“Lord, lay some soul upon my heart,
And love that soul through me;
And may I nobly do my part
To win that soul for Thee.”
Your Fellow-Laborer in the Fields,
Pastor Mark Goossen
No comments:
Post a Comment