1 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,959 I've told you this before, but harvest is one of my favorite times 2 00:00:15,959 --> 00:00:16,560 of the year. 3 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,160 I love seeing the leaves change color, I love the fresher 4 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,600 days, and I love to see our meeting houses up and down the country 5 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:25,600 being filled with produce from the land. 6 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:30,200 And as we celebrate the harvest, there's a sense that the 7 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:35,040 agricultural year has drawn to a slower pace with the busyness of 8 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:38,880 spring planting, the tending of crops in the summer, and now the 9 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:42,680 fields and plots in our gardens dug up as the harvest is 10 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:43,200 brought in. 11 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:45,280 Now, I didn't grow up on a farm. 12 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:49,160 Rather we had a home bakery and a large vegetable garden. 13 00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:52,810 But my uncles were farmers and they made sure that I knew I how 14 00:00:52,810 --> 00:00:53,730 to milk a cow. 15 00:00:55,090 --> 00:00:59,010 I know these hands don't look like they could milk a cow, but I 16 00:00:59,010 --> 00:01:03,290 was taught at the age of six to sit on a little stool and to repeat 17 00:01:03,290 --> 00:01:05,330 the mantra, give, Daisy, give. 18 00:01:05,570 --> 00:01:06,930 The kids have got to live. 19 00:01:07,330 --> 00:01:09,410 And that's how I learned to milk a cow. 20 00:01:10,770 --> 00:01:13,930 They then took me, whenever I was 10, into the milking parlour 21 00:01:13,930 --> 00:01:15,730 with all of its suction cups. 22 00:01:15,730 --> 00:01:17,170 And that wasn't for me. 23 00:01:17,410 --> 00:01:20,690 For me, the stool under the cow was the place to be to get the 24 00:01:20,690 --> 00:01:22,030 milk that was needed. 25 00:01:23,870 --> 00:01:27,230 And then whenever I went to missionary training college over 26 00:01:27,230 --> 00:01:31,430 in England, it wasn't just about drinking milk, it was about 27 00:01:31,430 --> 00:01:32,910 how you would cook your chicken. 28 00:01:33,150 --> 00:01:36,470 And that is getting it from running around the yard to getting 29 00:01:36,470 --> 00:01:38,310 it into the pot to the plate. 30 00:01:38,310 --> 00:01:41,390 And so a good firm little movement of the hand would make sure 31 00:01:41,390 --> 00:01:44,830 all of that happened well and with greatest of care. 32 00:01:45,550 --> 00:01:48,390 So I may not have grown up on a farm, I may not have lived in a 33 00:01:48,390 --> 00:01:53,720 farm, but I'm open for any work that a labourer can offer in 34 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,880 terms of milking cows and getting chickens on the plate. 35 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:02,440 But we know that as the darker nights draw in, we know that the 36 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:03,920 growing season has come to an end. 37 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:07,040 Because the main part of the growing season is light. 38 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:08,760 We need the sunlight. 39 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:12,800 And yes, we can plant winter vegetables, but they only need a 40 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:13,600 certain amount of light. 41 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,560 But most of the produce that we have needs a good amount of light 42 00:02:17,250 --> 00:02:17,610 each year. 43 00:02:17,610 --> 00:02:19,570 But also our soil needs time to rest. 44 00:02:20,530 --> 00:02:24,770 We know that it has to lie dormant for a period of time so that 45 00:02:24,770 --> 00:02:28,290 as we plant seeds again, a new growth will come healthier. 46 00:02:28,850 --> 00:02:31,690 And we understand the need to plant different things in different 47 00:02:31,690 --> 00:02:35,930 places each year so that there's no disease or anything that 48 00:02:35,930 --> 00:02:37,970 transfers from one year to the other. 49 00:02:38,770 --> 00:02:43,250 So harvest feels like the coming to the end of a busy season, 50 00:02:44,310 --> 00:02:48,750 not just for farmers, but for those who plant either plots at home 51 00:02:48,750 --> 00:02:50,070 or in greenhouses. 52 00:02:51,590 --> 00:02:54,910 See, and that's why we enjoy our harvest services, because for 53 00:02:54,910 --> 00:02:59,310 one Sunday in the year, we pause and we give thanks to God for 54 00:02:59,310 --> 00:03:03,150 his provision of our daily needs, rather than depending on the 55 00:03:03,150 --> 00:03:05,110 efforts of our own hands. 56 00:03:06,150 --> 00:03:09,190 And of course, for a number of years, my celebration of the harvest 57 00:03:09,270 --> 00:03:11,830 had been very different than what I would know today. 58 00:03:12,540 --> 00:03:15,300 And it would happen much earlier than October, because in 59 00:03:15,300 --> 00:03:19,260 Malawi, where we lived before coming here, the harvest happens 60 00:03:19,260 --> 00:03:23,740 in April, and it's a much different affair than here there, 61 00:03:23,740 --> 00:03:27,020 whether be it in the city or in rural villages, everyone would 62 00:03:27,020 --> 00:03:30,500 grow crops because you could quite literally grow what you would 63 00:03:30,500 --> 00:03:31,180 need to eat. 64 00:03:31,420 --> 00:03:35,700 And each house that you would go to has land somewhere where the 65 00:03:35,700 --> 00:03:37,840 traditional crop of maize is. 66 00:03:39,830 --> 00:03:42,630 A belt is grown, as we get it here for you. 67 00:03:43,430 --> 00:03:46,350 And what's left is there's great expectation that following 68 00:03:46,350 --> 00:03:49,830 the rains of December and early January, there'd be great joy 69 00:03:49,830 --> 00:03:53,789 in the first cobs of corn being pulled, being boiled and enjoyed. 70 00:03:53,789 --> 00:03:56,110 And then this was the time that corn would only be eaten in 71 00:03:56,110 --> 00:03:58,470 this way, because normally it would be stripped of its kernels 72 00:03:58,470 --> 00:04:01,750 as it is there, and then stored until it was needed to be 73 00:04:01,750 --> 00:04:05,300 milled into flour and used to make what was the steam food called, 74 00:04:05,300 --> 00:04:09,060 insima, and that's corn, flour and water boiled up together into 75 00:04:09,060 --> 00:04:14,460 a stodgy pat of food that would fill your stomach and leave 76 00:04:14,460 --> 00:04:15,700 you filled for the day. 77 00:04:17,540 --> 00:04:19,980 The one thing that is interesting about the gathering in 78 00:04:19,980 --> 00:04:23,460 of the harvest is that a certain amount of the first corn 79 00:04:23,780 --> 00:04:27,820 that was harvested in Malawi is set aside in a storeroom until 80 00:04:27,820 --> 00:04:28,500 the end of April. 81 00:04:29,140 --> 00:04:31,460 And that's when the harvest services would be held. 82 00:04:32,620 --> 00:04:35,900 Now, these weren't just times for gathering, to worship, to sing 83 00:04:36,060 --> 00:04:38,380 harvest songs and decorate churches. 84 00:04:38,860 --> 00:04:42,700 Indeed, there's very little decoration as everything that is 85 00:04:42,700 --> 00:04:45,340 brought is presented at the front of the church building. 86 00:04:45,740 --> 00:04:51,540 Family are named by family and they give as an expression of thankfulness 87 00:04:51,540 --> 00:04:54,380 to God for his care and his generosity. 88 00:04:54,700 --> 00:04:57,820 The leaders of the church would then distribute these harvest 89 00:04:57,820 --> 00:05:00,140 gifts to the poor and to the needy. 90 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,000 And so when it comes to harvest here in Northern Ireland, 91 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:06,320 what are your thoughts about it? 92 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,600 Is it just another annual event of the church? 93 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:14,080 Is it a time to get our church buildings decorated and we invite 94 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:14,720 people in? 95 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,200 Maybe it's one of the few times that we come to church. 96 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,200 Or maybe has our society lost touch with the real source of our 97 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:24,560 food? 98 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,240 And do we consider the supermarkets to be the ones who provide 99 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:30,920 for us rather than our creator God? 100 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:36,000 I taught during My teaching practice at a school in rural North 101 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:36,760 Yorkshire. 102 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:42,320 And even there, the children believed that milk was made by the 103 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,600 supermarkets rather than coming from a cow. 104 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,280 And in fact, when I told them it did come from a cow, they were 105 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:49,400 greatly disgusted. 106 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:51,880 So why do we bother? 107 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,880 Why do we bother with all of this celebration of our food? 108 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,520 Well, we need to turn to God's word to discover that harvest is 109 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:05,120 not just a tradition of the church, but is, in fact, a command 110 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:06,080 from God. 111 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:13,600 We bring things in so that we can remember who God is to us. 112 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,720 We encourage our farming communities in the work that they 113 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:23,750 do so that we can know the blessing of God to us as we daily 114 00:06:23,750 --> 00:06:24,590 rely on Him. 115 00:06:25,790 --> 00:06:29,790 And in Exodus 23, we read about God's directions for his people. 116 00:06:30,430 --> 00:06:34,030 And these directions or laws were given so that the children of 117 00:06:34,030 --> 00:06:37,350 Israel would know how to live and how to work together, as well 118 00:06:37,350 --> 00:06:39,710 as knowing God's best way for them as a community. 119 00:06:40,590 --> 00:06:43,070 And so, of course, we know that that section in Scripture begins 120 00:06:43,070 --> 00:06:47,270 with the Ten Commandments in chapter 20 of Exodus, and it finishes 121 00:06:47,270 --> 00:06:51,610 in chapter 23 with a section on laws about the Sabbath and about 122 00:06:51,690 --> 00:06:52,570 festivals. 123 00:06:53,850 --> 00:06:57,850 God knew of the short memory his people would have. 124 00:06:58,010 --> 00:07:01,770 They've already demonstrated that, as we've seen looking in Exodus, 125 00:07:01,770 --> 00:07:05,610 that they forgot how good God was in getting them out of the land 126 00:07:05,610 --> 00:07:06,410 of slavery. 127 00:07:06,410 --> 00:07:08,170 And they complained and they grumbled. 128 00:07:08,170 --> 00:07:10,970 So God put down then what they had to remember. 129 00:07:11,850 --> 00:07:15,210 And so right from the beginning, he put in place the Sabbath 130 00:07:15,610 --> 00:07:20,080 and festivals so that his people would never forget his saving 131 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:23,360 power and his provision for their needs in life. 132 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:28,000 And this is what we read in Exodus chapter 23 and verses 16 to 133 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:28,320 19. 134 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:32,080 God says, you shall keep the feast of harvest, of the first fruits 135 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:34,880 of your labor, of what you sow in the field. 136 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:37,320 You shall keep the feast of ingathering. 137 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,720 At the end of the year, when you gather in from the land the fruit 138 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:41,920 of your labor. 139 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,920 Three times in the year shall all your meals appear before the 140 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:46,560 Lord God. 141 00:07:47,190 --> 00:07:50,390 You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, 142 00:07:50,550 --> 00:07:53,830 or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning. 143 00:07:54,310 --> 00:07:58,230 The best of the first fruits of your ground, you shall bring into 144 00:07:58,230 --> 00:08:00,790 the house of the Lord your God. 145 00:08:02,070 --> 00:08:06,950 The feast of harvest and the feast of ingathering are two different 146 00:08:07,190 --> 00:08:10,150 festivals or feasts around the same theme. 147 00:08:10,630 --> 00:08:14,110 The feast of ingathering is when all the crops had been taken 148 00:08:14,110 --> 00:08:17,370 from the fields and brought into the storehouses, whereas the 149 00:08:17,370 --> 00:08:21,410 feast of harvest was when the crops had been processed and were 150 00:08:21,410 --> 00:08:22,530 ready to be eaten. 151 00:08:23,010 --> 00:08:26,370 And these two feasts were very Particular in reminding the people 152 00:08:26,610 --> 00:08:30,690 not only how God had sustained them in the wilderness, but also 153 00:08:30,690 --> 00:08:34,970 how he has continued to remain faithful in providing food from his 154 00:08:34,970 --> 00:08:39,330 creation so that his people can live and enjoy his blessing. 155 00:08:40,450 --> 00:08:45,079 And so, I wonder, is harvest a time of true celebration for you 156 00:08:45,399 --> 00:08:48,199 as it was intended for God's people long ago? 157 00:08:48,839 --> 00:08:54,399 Is it a moment in life when you pause to thank God for His provision 158 00:08:54,399 --> 00:08:56,759 and his care for you and your family? 159 00:08:57,719 --> 00:09:02,839 Or has the lies of the world persuaded you that you are the provider 160 00:09:02,839 --> 00:09:06,919 of everything you have, that it is you who meets the needs of 161 00:09:06,919 --> 00:09:08,919 your home through your salary? 162 00:09:09,570 --> 00:09:12,330 Rather than recognizing what we read in James chapter one and 163 00:09:12,330 --> 00:09:16,210 verse 17, that every good and perfect gift is from above, coming 164 00:09:16,210 --> 00:09:19,730 down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change 165 00:09:19,810 --> 00:09:21,250 like shifting shadows. 166 00:09:22,530 --> 00:09:25,330 See, throughout Scripture we're told who is the true source 167 00:09:25,650 --> 00:09:28,610 of everything that we have and everything that we need. 168 00:09:28,850 --> 00:09:33,010 And we can trust him because James tells us that he does not change 169 00:09:33,090 --> 00:09:36,840 like shadows change as the light moves. 170 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:41,400 And this is where James gives us a New Testament perspective or 171 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:42,920 insight into the harvest. 172 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:44,680 You see, the harvest doesn't change. 173 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:48,640 Rather, the New Testament gives us a deeper image, a new perspective 174 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:49,480 of the harvest. 175 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,440 It doesn't take away from God's provision in meeting our day 176 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:54,160 to day needs. 177 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:58,360 Rather it shows us a greater part of God's constant care and provision 178 00:09:58,360 --> 00:09:58,920 for us. 179 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,050 And so we go back to the Scripture passage through that I 180 00:10:03,050 --> 00:10:04,050 read earlier in the service. 181 00:10:04,050 --> 00:10:07,610 Because in Luke's Gospel we read of Jesus sending out the 72 182 00:10:07,930 --> 00:10:10,490 to work in a new kind of harvest field. 183 00:10:11,210 --> 00:10:14,570 Rather than it being an agricultural or horticultural field, 184 00:10:15,370 --> 00:10:16,810 it's a spiritual field. 185 00:10:17,610 --> 00:10:22,450 In verse 2, Jesus tells the 72 that the harvest is plentiful, but 186 00:10:22,450 --> 00:10:23,490 the workers are few. 187 00:10:23,490 --> 00:10:27,890 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore to send out workers into 188 00:10:27,890 --> 00:10:29,210 his harvest field. 189 00:10:30,420 --> 00:10:34,100 Jesus is telling them that there is a bumper harvest ready to 190 00:10:34,100 --> 00:10:34,740 be reaped. 191 00:10:35,220 --> 00:10:38,820 And the rest of the passage goes on to record that all that the 192 00:10:38,820 --> 00:10:42,660 72 did as they went throughout the region proclaiming the coming 193 00:10:42,660 --> 00:10:43,620 kingdom of God. 194 00:10:44,740 --> 00:10:47,340 And you know, as we sit here in Harvest Sunday, isn't it great 195 00:10:47,340 --> 00:10:48,180 to see that. 196 00:10:48,500 --> 00:10:49,860 That the harvest is plentiful? 197 00:10:49,860 --> 00:10:52,340 Which one of us doesn't want a plentiful harvest? 198 00:10:52,660 --> 00:10:56,840 Be it our farmers, be it our keen gardeners, or be it, be it whenever 199 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,120 we go into a supermarket or a shop and look at the fruit and veg 200 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,760 in front of us, don't we want a plentiful harvest, wherever that 201 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:04,840 may come from in the world? 202 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:06,520 Of course we do. 203 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:10,040 It's what we desire, because we know it's what we need. 204 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:14,640 But there's a reality of this harvest field that Jesus is sending 205 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:16,280 the 72 out into. 206 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:20,200 And so we get a look at what this harvest field is like. 207 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:25,960 Turns out that this harvest field is a place of predators, because 208 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,600 verse three tells us it is a place of wolves. 209 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:30,560 That is, it's a dangerous place. 210 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:35,440 So here's Jesus sending out his faithful followers, his disciples, 211 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,080 into a world that will reject them. 212 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:44,160 And not just reject them, but like a wolf will devour them, it 213 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:47,360 will persecute them, it will chase them out. 214 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,920 And is not the interesting thing of this passage what Jesus 215 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:55,680 says, if you are chased, then go, don't stay. 216 00:11:55,920 --> 00:12:00,400 In fact, take the dust of that town and shake it off at them as 217 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:04,160 a sign to them of their hard hearts, of their rejection. 218 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:08,240 And so now we're beginning to see that this harvest field is a 219 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:12,600 dangerous place, even though it has good news and it is plentiful. 220 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:16,000 And there are hearts that will receive this message of the harvest. 221 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:20,380 There are those who will reject it, and they will reject it 222 00:12:20,380 --> 00:12:25,660 vehemently because they will go after God's own people and reject 223 00:12:25,660 --> 00:12:30,580 them, just as they will reject his one and only Son. 224 00:12:31,540 --> 00:12:36,020 So this harvest field that Jesus is sending his people out into 225 00:12:36,580 --> 00:12:40,940 is a place of danger, but it's also into a world that is in pain 226 00:12:40,940 --> 00:12:41,620 and suffering. 227 00:12:42,420 --> 00:12:43,780 It's not a perfect world. 228 00:12:44,670 --> 00:12:48,350 It's not a world where we get everything we want all the time. 229 00:12:50,110 --> 00:12:52,510 I wonder, are we awake to that? 230 00:12:53,470 --> 00:12:56,510 I wonder, do we realize that that's what the world is like? 231 00:12:57,710 --> 00:13:01,630 And as I've said so often this year, it's not what God intended. 232 00:13:02,750 --> 00:13:05,030 It was never part of the original design that there would 233 00:13:05,030 --> 00:13:06,430 be pain and suffering in the world. 234 00:13:06,430 --> 00:13:12,420 But because of sin, yes, sin, this world is fallen. 235 00:13:12,900 --> 00:13:15,380 It's broken, it hurts. 236 00:13:16,580 --> 00:13:19,700 And it's a place where we want to weep and cry because we are sad. 237 00:13:21,620 --> 00:13:23,860 See, this is a world that needs a change. 238 00:13:25,220 --> 00:13:28,580 It's a world that is only going to continue to get worse and 239 00:13:28,660 --> 00:13:34,420 worse because sin will bring it further and further down and away 240 00:13:34,420 --> 00:13:36,640 from the one true God. 241 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,360 So this place of danger is also a place of pain and suffering, 242 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:44,000 but it's also a hostile world. 243 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:47,520 Yes, it will be hostile to the message. 244 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:49,560 It will reject what is truth. 245 00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:53,920 In fact, it will make truth false, and it will make what is false 246 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:54,480 true. 247 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:59,160 It will be that dichotomy of mixing it up so that we will be led 248 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:05,090 to believe in this world today that actually what is bad, and you 249 00:14:05,090 --> 00:14:08,730 see it Everywhere around you, in the changing of our laws, where 250 00:14:08,730 --> 00:14:12,770 once we stood on a moral foundation, we're now told that that 251 00:14:12,770 --> 00:14:16,970 good that we hold by is now bad, and we are bad for believing 252 00:14:16,970 --> 00:14:17,290 it. 253 00:14:17,770 --> 00:14:21,610 And rather we are to just follow whatever the latest social 254 00:14:21,770 --> 00:14:27,210 thought is, because as long as the loudest voice goes with it, then 255 00:14:27,210 --> 00:14:28,410 it must be true. 256 00:14:29,700 --> 00:14:30,740 And that's what we're told. 257 00:14:31,540 --> 00:14:34,340 And so this world, this harvest field, is a place of woes, 258 00:14:34,340 --> 00:14:37,420 a place of danger, it's a world of pain and suffering, but 259 00:14:37,420 --> 00:14:38,380 it's a hostile world. 260 00:14:38,380 --> 00:14:42,620 And yet it is into this world that the good news of the gospel 261 00:14:42,620 --> 00:14:44,660 comes, because it is the harvest field. 262 00:14:44,980 --> 00:14:48,020 And a harvest field needs to be harvested. 263 00:14:48,740 --> 00:14:52,820 You don't just leave your crops lying in the fields, you don't 264 00:14:52,820 --> 00:14:55,540 leave them in your greenhouse, you don't leave them to rotate. 265 00:14:56,250 --> 00:14:58,570 You harvest them because they're good. 266 00:14:59,930 --> 00:15:02,690 And whenever you look at this summary of the world at Jesus time, 267 00:15:02,690 --> 00:15:04,490 it isn't very different from our own. 268 00:15:05,130 --> 00:15:08,490 We live in a time where the world wants to persuade us to its 269 00:15:08,490 --> 00:15:10,090 self satisfying ways. 270 00:15:10,090 --> 00:15:14,130 Rather than showing us the truth of the Savior, the world wants 271 00:15:14,130 --> 00:15:16,010 to shape us into its mold. 272 00:15:16,010 --> 00:15:19,130 And this is the way that will lead to our destruction. 273 00:15:20,010 --> 00:15:25,090 You see, the world tells us that it will be our salvation, that 274 00:15:25,090 --> 00:15:28,890 it can save us, but it's a promise that it cannot keep. 275 00:15:30,650 --> 00:15:35,810 But there is hope in the midst of the hopeless world because Jesus 276 00:15:35,810 --> 00:15:40,010 tells us that he is the Lord of the harvest. 277 00:15:41,690 --> 00:15:45,450 Michael Wilcox, who is a commentator, says this about verse 278 00:15:45,450 --> 00:15:47,450 two, the driving power of the Lord himself. 279 00:15:48,390 --> 00:15:49,070 This is what it is. 280 00:15:49,070 --> 00:15:50,150 The harvest is His. 281 00:15:50,390 --> 00:15:52,470 The whole scheme is under his control. 282 00:15:53,190 --> 00:15:56,710 And three times in as many verses, he takes the responsibility 283 00:15:57,110 --> 00:15:58,710 for sending out the workers. 284 00:15:59,430 --> 00:16:02,950 You see, the one who sees the spiritual harvest is the one who 285 00:16:02,950 --> 00:16:04,150 reaps the harvest. 286 00:16:04,310 --> 00:16:08,310 And this is good news for us because we have a caring Savior who 287 00:16:08,310 --> 00:16:11,990 wants us to trust in him and in his way of salvation. 288 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,280 And so what is the link between these passages that we've 289 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:20,000 been looking at with relevance to the harvest from Exodus and now 290 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:21,280 from Luke's gospel? 291 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:24,440 Well, when you look at the command in the Old Testament to celebrate 292 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:27,600 the physical harvest and the image that Jesus now gives us in 293 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:31,120 the New Testament of the spiritual harvest, they're both pointing 294 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,880 us to complete dependence on God. 295 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,640 In the first, we depend on God as our provider and the giver of 296 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:39,920 life. 297 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,620 And this hasn't changed from the foundation of the world to this 298 00:16:43,620 --> 00:16:43,860 day. 299 00:16:43,860 --> 00:16:47,620 And as long as life remains on this earth, God will continue to 300 00:16:47,620 --> 00:16:49,140 provide for our physical needs. 301 00:16:49,780 --> 00:16:53,940 He will continue to provide the sun and rain, the seed, time 302 00:16:53,940 --> 00:16:58,260 and harvest, the turning of spring into summer, summer into autumn, 303 00:16:58,260 --> 00:17:02,260 autumn into winter, and he will ensure that that cycle continues. 304 00:17:02,660 --> 00:17:06,580 And we can depend on God to meet all of our physical needs because 305 00:17:06,580 --> 00:17:08,980 he has proved Himself faithful. 306 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:13,719 But now in these verses in the New Testament, we depend on God for 307 00:17:13,719 --> 00:17:18,079 our salvation, because the images that Jesus uses shows us that 308 00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:20,879 the things and ways of the world cannot be trusted. 309 00:17:21,199 --> 00:17:24,359 They will mislead us, they will tell us lies, and they will 310 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:25,599 give us a false hope. 311 00:17:26,079 --> 00:17:29,519 And so, instead of trusting in the world, Jesus invites us to trust 312 00:17:29,519 --> 00:17:31,999 in him as the Lord of the harvest. 313 00:17:32,719 --> 00:17:37,000 In Jesus there is perfect love and fullness of truth. 314 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:42,960 His love drives out fear and his truth continues to reveal the 315 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:44,840 fullness of God to us. 316 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:49,800 You see, the simple meaning of these passages for us today is that 317 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:54,000 each of us here need to put our trust in our Father God for our 318 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:58,520 daily provision, but also for our eternal salvation, salvation 319 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,740 that is only in His Son, Jesus Christ, to give his own life so that 320 00:18:02,740 --> 00:18:04,060 we would not have to die. 321 00:18:04,940 --> 00:18:08,460 And so we can sometimes look at all the things I mentioned at 322 00:18:08,460 --> 00:18:11,420 the start that I love about the harvest and autumn, all of those 323 00:18:11,420 --> 00:18:12,460 things around you. 324 00:18:13,180 --> 00:18:15,980 But the harvest means that something has to die. 325 00:18:17,180 --> 00:18:20,060 It has to be taken from its life source. 326 00:18:21,740 --> 00:18:23,020 Any gardener will know. 327 00:18:23,420 --> 00:18:26,380 And if they're a very good gardener, they'll get their tomatoes 328 00:18:26,380 --> 00:18:27,100 from this year. 329 00:18:27,750 --> 00:18:31,070 They'll take out the seeds and they'll dry them and they'll plant 330 00:18:31,070 --> 00:18:33,670 them next year and so have another crop of tomatoes. 331 00:18:34,790 --> 00:18:37,190 But that tomato has to die. 332 00:18:37,830 --> 00:18:40,350 It has to be cut off from its life source. 333 00:18:40,350 --> 00:18:42,950 And even though we will consume it quite quickly from that 334 00:18:42,950 --> 00:18:46,390 point, it has to die so that from it we can get life. 335 00:18:46,390 --> 00:18:50,110 And it's a wonderful illustration of what it means to 336 00:18:50,110 --> 00:18:50,790 know Jesus. 337 00:18:51,510 --> 00:18:58,640 He gave his life so that we could live, see in the harvest, know 338 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:02,960 the nutritional good that we receive in the crops gathered in. 339 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:06,560 But what about our eternal nutrition? 340 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:08,800 What about our eternal lives? 341 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:13,720 Jesus had to die so that we could live and dwell in the presence 342 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:15,440 of God forever. 343 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:19,200 This harvest time, I wonder, are you truly thankful? 344 00:19:20,390 --> 00:19:23,870 Are you truly thankful for the fruit and the vegetables, for the 345 00:19:23,870 --> 00:19:25,830 bread and for the tins of baked beans? 346 00:19:26,550 --> 00:19:29,350 Because we celebrate the harvest to give thanks to God and 347 00:19:29,350 --> 00:19:33,910 give him his rightful place as our Creator and as our sustainer. 348 00:19:34,710 --> 00:19:38,190 But are you also thankful that he not only cares for our physical 349 00:19:38,190 --> 00:19:41,750 needs, but also for our spiritual need of salvation? 350 00:19:42,950 --> 00:19:45,830 You see, the truth is there is a harvest. 351 00:19:46,700 --> 00:19:49,260 That's what Jesus says And the harvest is plentiful. 352 00:19:50,620 --> 00:19:53,780 But as with everything of the harvest, there's going to be things 353 00:19:53,780 --> 00:19:58,500 gathered in and there's going to be things left simply because 354 00:19:58,500 --> 00:20:01,180 they haven't done what they're supposed to do by way of growing 355 00:20:01,180 --> 00:20:02,060 as they should have. 356 00:20:03,180 --> 00:20:06,140 And the reality for us all here, we're one of the other of this 357 00:20:06,140 --> 00:20:11,620 harvest we are gathered in or we are left to face the punishment 358 00:20:11,620 --> 00:20:12,460 that we deserve. 359 00:20:13,790 --> 00:20:16,750 Now that's striking on a day of great celebration is this. 360 00:20:17,230 --> 00:20:21,950 It is the truth that we cannot ignore, that in the great harvest 361 00:20:21,950 --> 00:20:26,830 of souls there will be the redeemed who will enter into eternal 362 00:20:26,830 --> 00:20:27,150 life. 363 00:20:28,190 --> 00:20:32,070 But there will be those, those who like the villages Jesus spoke 364 00:20:32,070 --> 00:20:36,310 about, who will reject what it means to know the good of this harvest 365 00:20:36,310 --> 00:20:36,830 of Jesus. 366 00:20:37,950 --> 00:20:40,910 And they will be content in in their own thinking. 367 00:20:41,870 --> 00:20:44,590 They'll be content to say that they are right. 368 00:20:45,230 --> 00:20:48,550 They will be content to believe that their arguments are 369 00:20:48,550 --> 00:20:50,030 greater than that in scripture. 370 00:20:50,990 --> 00:20:53,630 They're content to believe that they provide for everything 371 00:20:54,030 --> 00:20:54,750 themselves. 372 00:20:55,789 --> 00:21:00,430 And don't think one moment of the God who truly has provided. 373 00:21:01,630 --> 00:21:07,200 That's going to be a sorrow filled harvest because it will not 374 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:08,040 be gathered in. 375 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,480 It will be left and face the punishment it deserves. 376 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:17,080 And maybe, sadly, that's you this morning, maybe I've described 377 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:17,480 you. 378 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:20,280 You think you're good enough. 379 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,240 But none of our own goodness will ever be good enough. 380 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:25,480 Because Jesus is the only one who is good. 381 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:30,000 And it is he who invites us to come to him and to find rest, to 382 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,680 follow his way of life rather than being misled by the world. 383 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:39,730 And that's why he says he in Matthew chapter 11 and verse 28:30. 384 00:21:40,050 --> 00:21:43,370 Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give 385 00:21:43,370 --> 00:21:43,890 you rest. 386 00:21:44,290 --> 00:21:47,770 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and 387 00:21:47,770 --> 00:21:50,810 humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. 388 00:21:50,810 --> 00:21:54,050 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 389 00:21:55,810 --> 00:21:58,130 This is what it means to trust in Jesus. 390 00:21:58,530 --> 00:22:02,050 This is what it means to be gathered in as that spiritual harvest 391 00:22:02,050 --> 00:22:05,640 that is plentiful, that we will enjoy his rest. 392 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:08,520 So will you come and find rest in him. 393 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,960 Whether you're in your teens or in your 90s or anywhere in between. 394 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:15,200 Will you come to him and find rest? 395 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:19,599 Whether you think you're good enough or no good at all, whether 396 00:22:19,599 --> 00:22:24,520 you're wealthy or poor, educated or not employed, looking 397 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:25,960 for work or retired. 398 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:31,160 The invitation is for us all to come to Jesus, to rest in him, 399 00:22:31,590 --> 00:22:36,230 to rely on him, to be our Savior and have the burden of saving 400 00:22:36,230 --> 00:22:42,310 ourselves lifted from us as we look to the only Savior who can truly 401 00:22:42,470 --> 00:22:44,790 forgive and receive us home. 402 00:22:45,910 --> 00:22:48,390 I truly love the harvest. 403 00:22:49,110 --> 00:22:52,830 I haven't milked a cow in years and I haven't killed a chicken 404 00:22:52,830 --> 00:22:53,190 either. 405 00:22:54,150 --> 00:22:58,750 But I enjoy digging the carrots, I enjoy taking the tomatoes, 406 00:22:58,750 --> 00:23:03,320 I enjoy the apples and plums from the tree as a reminder of God's 407 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:03,840 goodness. 408 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:09,680 But it points me to his even greater goodness, that greater goodness 409 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:14,880 of salvation in Jesus for that great harvest of souls that will 410 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:15,200 come. 411 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:20,480 Will you be found amongst those that are gathered in to heaven 412 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:20,960 forever? 413 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:23,360 Or actually will you be left? 414 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:27,480 And you will have to suffer the punishment that your sins rightly 415 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,320 deserve because you have rejected Jesus once again. 416 00:23:31,230 --> 00:23:37,190 He says to you this day, come to me, find rest for your weary soul. 417 00:23:37,190 --> 00:23:38,270 Because who is he? 418 00:23:38,670 --> 00:23:41,710 He is gentle and humble of heart. 419 00:23:42,990 --> 00:23:48,830 Come onto Jesus and know his goodness this day and forevermore. 420 00:23:48,990 --> 00:23:49,870 Let us pray. 421 00:23:50,830 --> 00:23:54,710 Our Father God, we thank you that at this harvest time we don't 422 00:23:54,710 --> 00:23:59,040 only have that opportunity to thank you for all that's around us, 423 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:03,680 but Lord, we thank you for Jesus, the one who will reap in his 424 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:04,240 harvest. 425 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,240 And so we pray that we will be found amongst it, that we will know 426 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:11,120 and have that wonderful assurance of sins forgiven. 427 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:16,040 Because a moment in life has led us to that recognition and realization. 428 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,600 And if it hasn't happened yet, Father, open our eyes. 429 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:23,920 May we not be like the villages in ancient Israel that rejected 430 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,200 this message, where the dust was shaken off against them and they 431 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,520 were left to face the punishment that their sins deserved. 432 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:34,920 Father, help us to know that even in the hostility of this world, 433 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:39,640 even in its danger, Lord, we can trust in a Savior who invites 434 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:40,760 us to rest in Him. 435 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:45,400 So may we know this to be our truth this day, and may we respond 436 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:49,240 well to Jesus as we ask it, in his name and his name alone. 437 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:50,440 Amen.