We had a fall harvest service today. Count five things that you have to be thankful for. Praise the Lord for them.
Bro. Reynolds Frye brought the message.
Psalm 126:1 “When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. 2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. 3 The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. 4 Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. 5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Matthew 9:37 “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
The laborers are not only the preachers; as saved people all of us are expected to bring in a harvest. Time is closing in; it’s so near we can’t grasp it. The world needs to hear that Jesus saves. People need hope. We have hope in that harvest because we are saved. Jesus will gather us to him when he comes again.
The children of Israel had been in captivity. They went home rejoicing, but when they arrived they found that the land and their own farms lay desolate. They wept while they plowed and sowed the seed to reclaim the land and gain a harvest.
As they rejoiced on their way home, we too have something to rejoice about. However we see a world that needs the seed of the Word of God sown around them. We can’t do this by ourselves. Too many times we hear people say “look what I have” or “look at what I’ve done.” We can’t do anything without the Lord. Verse 6 begins with “he that goeth forth.” That’s what we have to do—go forth. God has work for all of us to do. We can’t set the world on fire for the Lord without him. Paul said “I can do all things through Christ.”
The harvest time is coming. Jeremiah 8:20 says “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” This is past tense. Harvest has to be accomplished through the Lord and by us as his followers. We have an obligation to go tell others about the joy of the Lord. There is peace in the Lord, peace the world cannot give. We have to be willing to leave some comforts to go out. Without some sacrifice, some pain, there will be no gain.
The laborers are few. The harvest is plentiful. There has never been a day like today. The harvest will soon pass. Don’t say you’ll wait until the spring. Go now. Weeping may endure for a night. You might sow in tears, BUT joy comes in the morning.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 