Jesus saw something the disciples didn’t see: a rich harvest of souls ripe for the kingdom of God, waiting to be gathered in. In this sermon we explore the way God intends to use humanity to reach humanity – and how He might even use us to help answer our own prayers.

<p>Jesus saw something the disciples didn’t see: a rich harvest of souls ripe for the kingdom of God, waiting to be gathered in. In this sermon we explore the way God intends to use humanity to reach humanity – and how He might even use us to help answer our own prayers.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Dalton SDA Church

Chester Clark

Look at the Fields

I'd invite you to turn to our scripture for today, John chapter 4, verses 34 and 35.

While you're turning there, I want to share a story with you that happened to me.

You know, there are some times That we do things we don't really enjoy doing, especially not to begin with.

You know, have you ever had to do something like that?

Where it was just a task, you knew you were supposed to do it, and you know, for me, to be honest with you, to be very honest with you, I don't like really, I don't like public speaking.

I know that may sound a little funny as a pastor to say that, but I really don't.

In fact, as a young person, I was very, very shy.

My best friend who lived some distance away from me in rural Arkansas, we loved to get together.

This was back when we were quite young and we were both homeschooled and I mean up to probably time when I was 12, 13 years old I remember when I wanted to see my best friend his name was Othniel I would actually beg my mother to call him because I was too scared to talk on the phone to my best friend.

I was in New York City and with a group and we had gone to a church, I think it was in Brooklyn, it may have been in Queens, I don't remember exactly, but the area of New York City we were in was a Hungarian Yugoslavian district and a lot of Eastern Europeans and primarily Hungarian, Yugoslavian, Polish, etc.

And we were there and after church we decided that we were gonna go out, I don't know who we was, but we decided we were gonna go out and give out literature on the street.

Have you ever, you've been to New York City?

Like the people aren't just, aren't, it's not the South, all right?

People aren't just dying to have a conversation with you.

I mean, if you make eye contact when you pass them on the sidewalk, they, it might not be a good thing, okay?

And I'm thinking, okay, we're going to go out in New York City on the street and we're going to hand out literature, hand out literature, and the shy in me took over.

You see, I really did not want to be handing out literature on the street in New York City, you know, dressed in a suit and, oh my.

And I remember I was, I had made it probably half a block down the sidewalk.

I remember I was handing out, we'll just use this as an example, I was handing out little books and magazines and some of us had magazines and some of us had books and we were handing these things out and after probably about 10 minutes or less, I just made it, I think it was like half a block down the street, and someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

And I turned around, there was this great big man, probably in his 30s, and scruffy looking.

And he said in a heavy accent to me, Are you the ones handing this out?" And what do you say?

My, My heart was in my throat, you know, and I was not sure if this was a friendly interrogation or an unfriendly interrogation.

And while I'm still thinking the best way to honestly answer this question, There's a tap on my shoulder again, and I turn around to the other side, and there's an even bigger man.

And he said in his heavy accent, are you afraid to die?

I mean, I hadn't thought of it that way before.

But now that you mention it, you know, on both sides of me, 1 man wants to know if I'm the 1 handing these out.

The other 1 wants to know if I'm afraid to die.

And I said a quick prayer to heaven, and I began to answer the man.

I said, yes, I am handing that out, and no, I'm not afraid to die.

And then they're unleashed from this second man an absolute torrent of questions.

If you die, what's going to happen to you?

On this street in New York, among people that did not look like they should be interested in spiritual things.

God was working in the hearts of young men.

God was working and This man was asking questions.

Recently he had been going through depression.

Recently he had been suffering a lot of mental agony.

As he asked question after question after question, I was trying to have him slow down.

So many of his questions, 1 of the books we were giving out that day was the great controversy and 1 of the so many of the questions he was asking I said brother just read this book read this book and find what the Bible says I believe the Bible to be true I believe God's promises God's Word to be true read his promises read his word There's a Jesus that we can trust that no matter what you've done, no matter who you are, his grace is sufficient for you.

No matter who you are, Jesus says, those who come to me, I will for no reason cast away, reject.

Jesus says He is able to save to the uttermost All, all who come unto God by Him.

Oh friends, it's a wonderful message we have.

And there's a world out there, I believe, that is looking for the truth that we have, the Jesus that we know.

Turn with me to your scripture, John chapter 4.

Say not ye, there are yet 4 months, and then comes harvest.

Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on what?

Look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest.

In the next chapter we see Jesus going to the Passover.

In the spring you don't harvest your crops, but Jesus says, don't tell me it's spring.

If you'll just look, look out in the fields, you'll see it.

Look into the fields and you'll see the harvest.

What kind of a harvest did Jesus say we should look for in the fields?

You know, 1 of the reasons that I think we're challenged in reaching the world for Christ, too Often we don't look for ripe fruit.

You know, let's figure out how we can reach the secular mind and the postmodern mind and the atheist mind and all the minds where there's no evidence at this point the Holy Spirit is working.

I think we need to know how to, and to be able to understand how other people think.

But Jesus sent us out to find ripe fruit.

And there's a time, how many of you have ever gardened or had fruit trees?

I grew up on, well I couldn't call it a farm, I mean we had horses and other animals, but our garden was over a half acre.

And so I had a lot of summer evenings and afternoons working in the garden.

And when you go out in the garden and some of those fruits like tomatoes or some of the other fruits, when they're ripe, you can tell they're ripe and you just barely touch the fruit and it just falls off in your hand.

Have you ever had a tomato like that in the summer?

I tell you what, you can't get anything better than a homegrown tomato just ripe on the vine.

But if you try to pick that green tomato, what happens?

Doesn't work very well, and if you do get it off, it's gonna spoil.

You see, God says, go and find the ripe fruit.

The fields are white, they're ripe for the harvest.

They're ripe fruit, and so there's a method to his madness.

There's a process that he wants us to accomplish in order to harvest the fields.

I'd like for you to turn with me and your Bibles to Matthew chapter 9.

And we're going to be looking at this parallel passage, John chapter 4 here this morning.

We're going to be unpacking it together over the next few minutes.

I believe there is a harvest that is ready, that is ripe, that is even here in Dalton.

As you're turning there, I want to share with you a statement, 1 of my favorite statements from the book Acts of the Apostles.

It says, There are many who are reading the Scriptures who cannot understand their true import or true meaning.

Look at the Fields

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