Title When Harvesting. John 4:25-38
Content Everything in this world has a time. Knowing this was the most important thing in farming. Moreover, in the old days there was no calendar and everything depended on the memories of the elderly. Moreover, the wisdom of knowing the time was important.
This is also true of any business. You need to know when to invest and know when to sell to make money. It's not just stocks.
If you look at the chaebols in Korea, they knew the right time to invest and eventually made a lot of money. The people who built today's chaebols like Hyundai and Samsung are people who know the time and make money.
But the surprising thing is that it is the same in the spiritual world. So, this time, we are going to share the grace with you under the title [Time of Harvest].
1. The Three Elements of Harvest
To get the right harvest, you need to know the three main elements of the harvest.
The (1) first element of the harvest is to know [who the harvester is].
We often mistake the harvester for us humans. It's not like that. The harvester of the spiritual harvest, and even the work of the world, is not man, but God who created him.
Because it is God who settles everything in the end.
However, when I think of myself as a harvester and when I think of God as a harvester, a completely different attitude arises.
John 15:1 clearly says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.” That is, God is the harvester who closes everything in the world.
(2) Next, the most important thing in harvest is [knowing the time of harvest].
If the fruit is not ripe yet, harvesting will only cause a great loss. The most sensitive thing is investing in stocks. You make money by investing when the price goes down and selling when the price peaks.
When I was in the United States, I also invested in stocks. Sometimes I do it myself, or I trust a trustworthy company and entrust it to the experts of that company.
But it's not easy. Many people try to make money through short-term investments, but in most cases, you can only see losses.
However, in today's text, verse 35, we can see that our views on the harvest time are completely different from the Lord's. Our view is that it will take four months before harvest time. So, you are not prepared at all.
But the Lord said that now is the harvest time. It is said that it is already white and ready for harvest. How different are these views?
Especially in evangelism and missions, they have different views. Many people think that missions can be done only when the church has grown and has enough money to do it, and it is impossible to do missionary work if it is barely self-reliant like our church.
But the Lord thinks that the fields are already white and it is time to harvest.
To be honest, many people were concerned when we went to Sri Lanka. I was worried about the epidemic, and because it was New Year's Day, I had to meet my family, so it was not the right time. But it was God's will that we went to Sri Lanka.
When we decided to go to Sri Lanka, we never foreseen that there would be a tsunami. So what is certain is that the Lord sovereignly made it go at that time. So it was the best time.
This difference of opinion applies to all things in business or in the church. So, missions and evangelism are controlled by the Holy Spirit, and we are only tools used by him.
You should have that mindset in your business as well. You can succeed only if you have the belief that the Lord is the owner of everything, and that I am only a manager used by him. With such belief, we can overcome adversity.
(3) The third essential element of the harvest is [the method of harvest].
We try to harvest everything by ourselves. But we should know that we are only one of those many harvesters. That doesn't mean I have to harvest. However, you shouldn't pass it on to others. I have other work to do. v Most pastors make a mistake thinking that they should reap what they sowed.
1 Corinthians 3:6 says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow.”
The specific method of harvesting differs from person to person. We cannot use many methods alone. Just do what I have. So, I have been doing missionary work mainly through my books and Bible education. What is surprising is that the method is bearing great fruit.
Last Wednesday, missionary Il-Nam Jeong came and went. The important news for me at that time is that the Chinese disciples I learned when I went to China to teach telescopic Bible studies are now central to conservative theology here and there. It was really unexpected good news.
Therefore, don't try to do what you don't have, but if you do it with what you have, great works will happen. See the miracle of five fish. Even though we delivered a child's lunch into the hands of the Lord, that was the driving force behind the miracle. So I just do what I have.
2. Harvester's Wage
Every worker has a wage. There are wages in worldly affairs, but there are wages in church affairs as well. It comes in several forms.
When I built a church at Seongsan Church in America, I made the second largest donation among all the members. There were no visible fruits because I came out after building the church. No wages were received.
However, after doing the calculations I realized that there are many things that are invisible to the eye. He gave him a good daughter-in-law and a beautiful granddaughter from them.
God has beautifully resolved the problem of my youngest son, whom my family was so worried about. I am currently majoring in film music at the College of Music, and I believe that one day I will be used in Hollywood.
Therefore, we need not be discouraged if the pay for our hard work is not soon paid. God's wages come in visible forms, but greater ones come in invisible forms. do you believe
Verse 36 says, “The one who reaps has already been paid.”
It turns out that (1) first, they [participated] in God's work.
(2) Second, it is the [recognition] of God.
(3) The third and most important thing is that [in the eyes of faith], we have not yet received the actual reward, but in the eyes of faith we have already received the reward.
Therefore, faith is the substance of things hoped for, so it is not in our hands, but it is already in our warehouse.
3. What do the harvesters need?
(1) First, you must have [a sense of duty].
Those who have succeeded in business in the world are all people with a sense of mission. Moreover, the work of God is even more so. ‘God has called me. God has entrusted it to me. Therefore, you can succeed only when you have a sense of mission that God will be with you.
If you look at the characteristics of successful people, they are all people with a positive mindset. In other words, if you have a sense of mission, you naturally have a positive mindset.
(2) Next, we must have the [love of work] entrusted to us.
Students should have an interest and love for what they study. Philosophy is called PHILOSOPHY in English, which means [love of wisdom].
If you simply have a sense of duty, you will be stressed, and if you force yourself to do it, you will get tired later. Therefore, the most important thing is to have a love for the task entrusted to you. That's when the job becomes more efficient.
(3) Third, you must have [patience].
Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not grow weary.”
There are times when we do not succeed in doing good because we cannot wait patiently. Moreover, those who wait for the harvest must be patient.
(Tuesday) Autumn barley and snow
(4) The fourth most important thing is to have faith.
There are times when we can't do it even though we pray, but it's because we don't have faith.
(Example Tue) The disciples who could not heal a child possessed by a mute demon in Mark 9.
“What do you mean you can do it? Nothing is impossible for him who believes” (9:23).
(5) Lastly, the most important thing is to have [loyalty to the Lord].
1 Corinthians 4:1-2 “Man ought to regard us as servants of Christ and entrusters of the mystery of God. And what we need from those in charge is loyalty.”
What is loyalty? If you look at the meaning of Chinese characters, it means to fulfill the words with the heart. The original word means to keep the faith.
closing words
We must not forget that every day is a harvest time for us. Because the end of the universe may still be far away, but my end is approaching moment by moment.
So what should we harvest?
First, we must not bury the talents God has given us in the ground. You have to use it all up to make a profit.
Second, like the five wise virgins, we must prepare oil every day and wait for the Lord to return.
Third, what God wants is loyalty, so I pray that you will carry out the mission entrusted to you every day.