My last post was based on the first half of a sermon I
prepared a couple of years ago. This
post is the second half. I ended the
last post with the point that God is compassionate, and we are called
to show that same kind of compassion. We’ll
pick up there….
Here’s the good news: God is already at work with the
lost and hurting people around us. Look
at what Jesus says in verses 37 and 38 of Matthew 9:35-38: “The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of
the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Jesus tells us that the harvest is
ready.
Many folks here in Green County live out in the
country. Some of us are farmers. Almost all of us have gardens. Let me ask you… when do you think most folks harvest
their crops? Right after they plant the
seeds? When the plant is still coming up
out of the ground?
No, you harvest your crop when the fruit is ready. God is already ahead of us. He is growing the plant. He is preparing it. People out there want to know the truth. They want to know God. They know that there’s something out there bigger
than themselves. They are suffering and
they are ready for help.
Why is God calling us to be on mission to the lost and
hurting out there? Because they are
ready. They are ready to be reached.
What happens when you don’t pick the crops when they are
ripe? The harvest rots. The fruits and vegetables wither up. I planted a garden a couple of years ago,
just like I do every year. But that year
we had a drought. Most of my plants looked
pretty pitiful. But you know what
happened? It eventually rained at the
end of summer. By then, I had pretty
much given up on my garden. I didn’t
even go down to check on it any more.
One day, I figured I’d go ahead and till the garden under and get it
ready for winter. Well, I walked back
there and took a look and guess what?
There were tomatoes and peppers and beans all over the garden. But most of it was spoiled, rotting on the
vines, and covered in weeds. I had not
gone out and harvested it when it was ready.
That was a crying shame.
You know what’s a bigger shame? The lost and hurting people out there who are
ready for us to reach out to them. But
we don’t. We aren’t going into the
harvest fields. We aren’t praying for the
harvest.
Harvest work is hard work. All of you that have worked on a farm know
what I’m talking about. You have to
actually get up off your rear end and get out there. God has already done the heavy lifting, but we
need to pray and to work.
And you know what?
It's hard work, but it’s also
joyful work. Bringing in the harvest is
a joy. I tell you, there’s something
really satisfying to have cans on your shelf and a deep-freeze full of fruits
and vegetables that you harvested yourself.
Think how much more satisfying it is to harvest a soul! To help somebody who’s hurting. To tell somebody about the good news of Jesus
Christ. Those cans of beans on the shelf
are good, but they pale in comparison to all that.
Let’s go back to my original question. Based on today’s passage, why should we help
the needy and lost? Because we should be
compassionate towards others and because God has already prepared the harvest
for us.
Now, here’s what I want you to do. I want you to commit to something. Don’t get worried, this is very easy. I want you to pray each day this week a
special prayer. The same thing Jesus
told us to pray for. It’s a very short
prayer. It goes something like this:
“Lord, please send out workers into your harvest.” That’s not a long prayer. It’s not complicated. It’s simple: “Lord, please send out workers
into your harvest.” Please remember to
pray that prayer every day this week. I’m
betting that God will answer that prayer with workers who will harvest a good
crop.
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