Text: Matthew 9:35-38
Opening Statement:
If we are to see lives saved and won to Christ, we need to see the harvest as Jesus saw the harvest of spiritually lost people dying and facing a Christ-less eternity. How did Jesus see the harvest?
I) He Saw the Harvest as Plentiful. (Matt. 9:37)
"Then saith he [Jesus] unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous". The world is big. The crowds are huge. The number of spiritually lost and dying people is overwhelming.
Let me bring it home, we have around 27,000 people in Ashe County and of that amount only about 40% of them attend church. I know that 60% of the population means we have a lot to work with.
II) He Saw the Harvest as Precious. (Matt. 9:36)
Not only was the harvest of people vast as Jesus looked upon it, but those people brought tears to his eyes. All those people, then and now, matter to him. Make no mistake about it: Jesus loves people.
Jesus' heart grieves over every soul. God grieves because those who die without Christ never know how much he loves them.
III) He Saw the Harvest as Being Perplexed. (Matt. 9:36)
Those three thoughts, harassed, helpless, and sheep without a shepherd, are a fitting description of our society. Ralph Waldo Emerson was right when he said, "People are living lives of quiet desperation." They are desperate for meaning and purpose distraught by the world's lies and heading for destruction.
IV) He Saw the Harvest as Perishing. (John 4:35)
To speak of the fields "white" unto harvest is to stress the imperative of getting into the fields before it is too late.
There must always be a sense of urgency to bringing in the harvest.
Of the 7 billion people in the world, it is estimated that over thirty million people worldwide will die without Christ this year.
There must always be a sense of urgency to bringing in the harvest.
The old preacher Vance Havner used to say, "The tragedy of our time is that the situation is desperate, but the saints are not."
V) He Saw the Harvest as a Priority. (Matt. 9:37-38)
We need to feel what Jesus feels. The Pharisees in their pride looked for the destruction of sinners; Jesus in love died for the salvation of sinners.
Herein lies one of the great truths of the Christian faith: The harvest will never be reaped unless there are reapers to reap it.
What can we do?
A) We can take responsibility for our field.
Think of all the people we contact everyday: family, friends, neighbors, work associates, our peers. That is our field.
B) We can pray.
When we begin to see people as Jesus saw them then we will pray for the harvest. But we must do more than pray.
C) We can go.
When we see people as Jesus saw them, we will go into the harvest. The gospel begins with go. Without going there is no knowing. If we don't go, who will?
D) We can share our story.
The great sin of the church is the sin of silence. People often say, "I'll let my life be my witness." We all have a God story that we are the expert on so tell it like their life depends on it.
In Closing:
But, you say, there are so many people. The harvest is so vast. The needs are so overwhelming. What can I do?
Oscar Schindler said, "I could have done more." Can we do more when it comes to bringing in the harvest of souls?
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