Tag: A final Harvest

October 8th 2023: Steffan Jones

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2 Corinthians 9:10-15

The Bible is full of instructions about giving thanks. In the Old Testament people sometimes used stones. There were established regular feasts and festivals. Pentecost acknowledged the first fruits. Harvest is an especially important time of year. This summer there were lots of concerns about the rainfall in August and how it would affect silage. People prayed for sunny weather and we had an Indian summer. In our reality, children go to Tesco and don’t know where vegetables and fruit comes from. Also, we’re living in an increasingly secular society, where God is being squeezed out. To thank God for harvest is becoming alien.

Last summer, I had the privilege of visiting America, linked to churches in New England. Boston has a common with a significant mural as a thanksgiving to God, thanking Him for Ether and the discovery of anaesthetic, which could transform the medical world. Whilst there, I also saw the Pfizer headquarters which states, “Science will win.” 150 years ago the Boston people wanted to acknowledge God, but in those 150 years God has been forgotten and science is the answer! It is important for us, as much as possible, to be reminded of God’s goodness to us.

  1. We have a go to supplies all our needs.

“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 9:10). People give praise to the deliverer, to the farmer, to the factory worker. It is right to do so, but we need to go deeper, to the source behind the sower, behind the bread maker. We need to go to the one who provided the seed, the grain, the wheat. The most fundamental problem of our society is the lack of awareness of God, the One who provides blessings, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1).

What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Do you stop and pause to acknowledge the God who gave you that new morning? All that we have is from the One that provides for all our needs. God deserves all the glory (Matthew 5). Stop and acknowledge the many material blessings: family, food, health, a chapel, harvest and so much more. Pray if you haven’t got those blessings, pray to the God who gives the seed. He knows what you require. Trust He will supply your daily needs. Be satisfied and content.

  • The God who enables generosity.

The context of this letter is important. The apostle is a middle-man. He is writing to the Corinthians to pave the way for a generous gift the Corinthians have pledged to the Macedonians. He establishes the principle of this in verse 11, “While you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.” It is a reminder that the generosity you receive from others is from God also. All that you have has been given to you to help others. It is not just wealth for yourself and your own comfort. Use it to bless others.

When you receive gifts from others, don’t just thank them, thank the One who enabled them to do this. Go to the sauce. They only had the means to bless you because God gave them the means. If someone is kind to you, God has prompted that kindness. None of us has the inclination to do this as we are – we want to live lives of comfort. When anyone displays kindness, we give God the glory, whether unbelievers or believers. When unbelievers give, it is God’s common grace. When believers give, they are displaying the fruit of the Spirit. If the Lord has given to you, will you use that to bless others? When you receive, will you thank them and the One who enriched them.

  • God has given an indescribable gift.

Paul tells the Corinthians that the people of Macedonia are praying for them, “And by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.” (2 Corinthians 9:14-15). As the Christians in Macedonia think about the church in Corinth, they are grateful for gifts, but more, they experienced the surpassing grace of God. You’ve known grace that surpasses all human blessings. Paul speaks of surpassing greatness, even greater than physical blessings. God is so gracious. God is so kind. The greatest act of all was God sending His Son to be the Saviour of the world. It is beyond our means to express it in words. It is a grace that transcends all human understanding.

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15). What is this gift? Back in eternity the Son of God was with the Father. He was God Himself. He had divine nature Himself. He created everything. The Word of God did not consider equality something to be grasped. He laid aside it all to become a servant. The Son of God appeared as a man, to live in this world not demanding to be served, but to serve. He was obedient to sinful parents. He was obedient to the terrible dictatorship (giving to Caesar). He was tempted to be frustrated with people, but He lived a life of purity and holiness. He went to the cross, obedient to death. He died for your sin and mine, taking on the penalty of our sins so we might be loved, accepted and approved. He took the darkness of judgement upon Himself so we might have light of life.

The Spirit was sent as a gift after the resurrection. The Spirit comes into the souls of His people, awakening us. We have the gift of everlasting glory, worship and praising Him for all eternity. That’s the gift! The gift of the Son to be our Saviour, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of forgiveness of sins. It is an indescribable gift. We need all of eternity to explore this gift.

Have you trusted in Jesus for your salvation and everlasting life? As we live our lives, remember we have a God who supplies all our needs. He is the one who enriches us and others to be kind. He is the one who gives surpassing grace and an indescribable gift. It’s a gift you need, a gift the village of Roch needs, a gift that Pembrokeshire and beyond needs. He offers that gift, will you receive it?

October 17th 2019 – Harvest: Alan Davison

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Alan Davison-Harvest Oct 19Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.

Harvest is a time of year that means less to us as a society now than it used to. The easy access to food through supermarkets has removed us from the link with farmers. During the time the Bible was written most people depended heavily on farming. Jesus, in His ministry, used many illustrations that came from farming. There are 60 instances of the word ‘harvest’ listed in one concordance. Around half the references are concentrated in the gospels and spoken by the lord Jesus Christ Himself. The Bible speaks of harvest in four main ways; it can be:

  1. A physical harvest
  2. A moral harvest
  3. A spiritual harvest
  4. A final harvest

 

  1. God, as our Creator, knows what we need. Because of His love for us God blesses us with what we need to eat. Mark 4:26-29. We are to labour too. There are things the farmer needs to do – sow, wait and harvest. There are things also out of his control – the seeds growing, weather etc. The labour of men gathers the provision of God. The Bible is clear everything we do comes out of everything God provides.
  2. The Moral Harvest (Hosea 8:7)

Israel once again turned its back against God. The people abandoned the faith it once held. Psalm 73. People in positions of authority have gained illegally at others expense. Frustratingly, while evil may succeed here on earth, there will be a reckoning after death. Our actions will have consequences. We will be called to account before God’s judgement throne, then we will have a moral harvest.

  1. A Spiritual Harvest.

Jesus feeds spiritually. “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.” (John 4:34-35). We want to follow our Lord’s command, yet we’re doing so in a culture that has largely rejected God. There is pressure not to evangelise.

  1. A Final Harvest

The Parable of the Tares and Weeds. Jesus tells this parable because He wants to make it clear to people that there will be a harvest at the end of time. The age He refers to is now. It will be the death of all we know now, but also a renewal, new heavens and a new earth. Hebrews 2:14-15. As human beings we should fear death unless we come to Jesus. The author Terry Pratchett was an atheist and advocate of euthanasia. He died in 2015. In 2007 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He includes death as a major character in his writing, portrayed as a rather serious character, the grim reaper. He was quite naïve. Coupled with death he has a portrayal of the afterlife, where everyone goes to the same place, a place of nothingless, where all go, regardless of beliefs. It is a place where there will be no moral harvest. Pratchett was knighted, therefore he needed a family motto. It was ‘Don’t fear the reaper.’ It shows us what the atheist hopes for – nothing. Yet he benefitted from all God provided. He tried to avoid the moral harvest and rejected the spiritual harvest.

Jesus makes it clear there is a final harvest coming. It is vitally important to be a child of God. In this parable the field is the world. What are the implications for the entire world? Jesus sows seeds of righteousness – those who believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. The devil comes along and sows tares – a weed called darnel. Darnel produces a poisonous fruit. If you eat enough darnel it will be fatal. As it grows it looks just like wheat until the fruit comes. At that point it becomes distinguishable. While a weed, darnel needs to be cultivated alongside crops for it to grow.

Matthew 5:45. God sustains His creation so that even those who don’t believe, continue to live. There are those in our world today who mock God. Jesus continues the parable with telling us the angels (reapers) are to gather the crop. This is Jesus’ focus. At the end of time there will be a separation – only into two groups: one group, children of the wicked one, the other, children of God. The group you are separated to depends solely on your view of Christ. Too many people are convinced there is a third group – agnostics. Look again at scripture. There are only two groups. If you are not God’s, by default you are Satan’s. The children of the wicked one will be cast into fire, into hell. It is Satan who owns them (verse 39-41). They practice lawlessness. This simply means that they rebel against God and His Word. They choose to go their own way, or so they think. Our culture tells us of heaven but not hell. Jesus often spoke of hell, in fact He spoke more of hell than heaven. He tells us there will be a wailing in hell – suffering, and gnashing of teeth – eternal regret. If you have accepted Christ, you are one of the children of God – to be chosen by God, nurtured, kept, and protected by Him. You are adopted into His family, thus having a share in God’s inheritance. You are called righteous. On that final day we will be God’s harvest at the end of the age. Will you be gathered into God’s eternal barn?