Fall Harvest!

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. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. John 4:25-36

Our new sister Elsie surrounded by Joy, Samantha, and Megan.

Fall has been a season that most farmers have relied upon from the beginning of time until now. It is the last season before winter, which as we all know is a season that prevents planting, sowing, and reaping because of the harsh weather and farming conditions. Therefore, fall has been a season of the upmost importance in that it is needed to store away food that will enable one to survive during the long winter months. Similarly, a fall harvest is very important for the church. We are expecting God to move powerfully this fall and relying upon an incredible harvest in order to get our Church going. However, in order for this to be possible, there are two qualities we must have: vision and urgency!

#1 Vision!

Jesus taught in the passage above, that in order to reap a harvest, first one must envision it. Jesus saw a world full of fruit to be picked and sadly a world filled with visionless workers that were sent to pick it. I can never forget the massive papaya fields in Hilo where I grew up. There were rows upon rows of trees with big orange papayas that were just waiting to be picked. The owners of these fields employed workers by the dozens, in the hopes that every papaya would be picked. But even with all the workers they employed, much of the fruit was lost as they were unable to get to it before it fell to the ground and rotted. Similar to a papaya field, I envision our world to be filled with so many souls that are ready to be harvested. These souls are dying without a chance to hear the gospel message, because so many disciples lack vision! If we want to have a great fall harvest we need men and women who open their eyes and see the world the same way Jesus saw it - a field ripe and ready for the harvesting of souls.

#2 Urgency!

The second quality that most disciples lack is a sense of urgency. Jesus used a strong statement above, "Do not say four months more and than a harvest." I believe he was speaking to the lack of urgency he saw in his own disciples. I have personally heard disciples make statements such as, "people aren't open this time of year" or "the gospel is out of season." Statements such as these are usually reflective of our lack of vision and personal urgency. Matthew 12:34 states, "out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." I believe the key to Jesus's urgency is found in his words, "Even now the reaper draws his wages, and even now he harvests the crop for eternal life." In reading this passage, I have always imagined the Grim Reaper swinging his sickle and harvesting souls for eternal life - whether they are destined to be with God in heaven or with Satan in hell. Certainly the Grim Reaper is just a fictional character, but is similar in description to the Angel of death spoken about in the Bible. The last time I checked 100% of all people who are currently alive will someday encounter the Angel of Death and it is our job before that day comes to get them the gospel message. If we want to have the same impact as Jesus this fall, we must have the same sense of urgency that Jesus had.

Deanna with tears of joy at her baptism

As I consider the words of Jesus and look forward to an incredible fall harvest, I know we will need both vision and urgency to make an impact. I am encouraged that we as a Church have already started off this fall by helping four young men and women to become Christians. But in order to make an even greater impact we must believe and act upon the words of Jesus, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask, the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send his workers into the harvest field." Luke 10:2 Church, let us ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers who have both vision and urgency into the harvest field as we strive to win Oahu for Christ and have an incredible fall harvest!

Aloha,

Kyles Sig

Kyle Bartholomew