|
|
Are You Ready For
the Harvest? A
number of years ago a restaurant had to close its doors for a couple of hours
each day. They were having trouble hiring people to work enough hours to fill
the day. In other words they were not closing because they did not have enough
customers, but because they did not have enough workers. I
wonder how many churches have died and closed their doors for the same reason.
They did not die off because they had converted everyone in their neighborhood,
but because they did not have enough workers. A congregation needs workers to
survive for very long. It needs Bible class teachers to teach the children of
its members, teachers to edify its members, and teachers to convert the lost. It
needs people that are willing to get and stay involved in the activities of the
congregation. On
one occasion Jesus said, “Do
you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold,
I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already
white for the harvest!” (John 4.35) There are some things I want all
of us to understand. There
are plenty of souls to teach and convert. We live in a world of lost people.
Just as a farmer looks over his fields and sees the crop that needs to be
harvested, Jesus could look out over the world and see the souls that needed to
be saved. In the first century, there were a lot of lost people and the same can
be said for today. God expects us to see the harvest. The
only way the harvest will be completed is if there are people doing the
harvesting. A farmer realizes the crop will not harvest itself. In today’s
vernacular we might say, “Bring on the combines.” The greater the harvest,
the more combines you can use. What would you think if Glenn Williams or Terry
Wigginton told us we’re going to have to make a choice; that we’re either
going to have to buy more combines or allow their harvest to rot in the fields?
We would tell them to go out there and buy the extra combine. It would be great
to have the problem of a crop that was so good you had to have more harvesters.
Our problem in harvesting souls is not in the lack of people that need to hear
the Gospel, but in the workers. Jesus
warns us of putting this off. “Do
you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest?”
We need people that are willing to work today.
The fact is we need people that are willing to teach classes, come to services
on a regular basis, and invite others to services, today. Do not say, “one of
these days I will do this or that” for it will not happen. The only promise we
can keep is the one we fulfill today. Joshua did not challenge the nation of “Lift
up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.”
Harvesting is not always convenient and it can be hard work, but it needs to be
done. Glenn and Terry know that you harvest the crop when it is ready and not
when you are ready. The same can be said for our work in this congregation. Brethren
we are at a cross roads in this congregation. Those that helped to start this
work are growing older. Some of our members have moved off and others have
passed away. Will this congregation continue to exist for another 20 or 30
years? It will depend on us being willing and able to convert our neighbors and
to teach our Bible classes. The
question I want our members to ask themselves is, “Am I ready for the
harvest?” – Dennis Tucker |