"Laborers Of The Harvest Part 3"

Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 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 harvest!

And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true:'One sows and another reaps.'

I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors." John 4:34-38
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Today we are going to look at something that Jesus touches on when He says, 'And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true:'One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.'

Here in these statements about the "the harvest" is the idea that some sow and some reap. The sower and the reaper are co-laborers together with one purpose, one goal - bringing the crop in. You can't have a harvest if no one ever plants a seed. You can't have a harvest without a time of growth which includes lots of sunshine and water. You can't have a harvest unless someone will take sickle in hand to get the work done. The Harvest has some work to it and all the parts and all the jobs are equally important!

In 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 Paul puts it like this, "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers;"

We all have a job to do and it is a team effort. Think about this thought! There are three main parts involved in "The harvest." You hear a lot about the sowing and the reaping but there is also that third one; the time of growth were the sun and the rain make all the difference. So just for this minute think about all three main parts and yes, I know that each main part has some jobs involved in the process but think just for a moment about the three main ones. The time of sowing and planting the seed. The time of growth or as Paul puts it, when we were watered. And then comes the time of reaping.

Three main parts, Three separate functions with one purpose in mind. Sound like someone else we know and love. God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All with a job to do. All with a single purpose! Co-laborers, united together with the harvest - you and I in mind.

We know from the parable of the sower that the seed is the word and from John 1 that Jesus is the Word; so we can know that Jesus is in charge of sowing seeds. Jesus told us that it was really important for Him to go away and that the Holy Spirit would come next. When He comes He will do a work in us. He will be our Helper. In John 14:26 Jesus said. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." or what about John 16:13 where Jesus tells us it is the Spirits job "to guide us in all truth."

It says that He will remind us of every word that Jesus spoke and that He causes the fruit of the Spirit to be at work in and through us. So many people focus on the sowing and reaping that they forget and get lost along the way. They get tired of the waiting. They forget that there is a time of growth! A time of watering with the Spirit before it can be the time for reaping. Too many people Know the Father and they know the Son but they forget, or even refuse to know the Holy Spirit. I wonder? I wonder if these are those who in the parable of the 10 virgins didn't have oil in their lamps? Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, right? I wonder if these are those that Jesus was talking about when He said, "You call me Lord, Lord, but you never knew Me." How can we know God if we don't know all of Him, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? I wonder?

Last comes the time of reaping. The time of harvest. The time where you get to partake in all the increase that the harvesting brings to your storehouses. Jesus said, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Matthew 9:37-38 The Father sent the Son, The Father sent the Holy Spirit and the Father is in charge of the time for reaping.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, co-laborers in The Harvest, rejoicing together! How blessed we are to be, as Paul put it, 'God's fellow workers;'

Thank you, God! Send me!

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