As
Jesus spoke to both the multitudes and His own disciples, He knew
that the Jewish people, however sincere or faithful, had no
understanding of growth and harvest for their synagogues or the
temple. They were people of tradition and Old Testament law. He had
to prepare them to receive other sheep into His worldwide flock of
believers. Several of His parables brought forth principles of the
kingdom pertaining to evangelism, growth and the eventual harvest.
In
the Sermon on the Mount, He taught that they would be “the
salt of the earth,”
and “the
light of the world.”
His plan was for them to influence more than one nation, one city
and one religious group. All three Synoptic Gospels later record the
parable of the sower. “A
sower went forth to sow…” (Matt. 13:3.) In Matthew, Jesus pointed us to the ground when He said, “The
field is the world.”
Luke reveals what the seed should be. “The
seed is the word of God.” (Luke 8:11)
However humble the packaging, whatever the size or method of
dispersion, the seed must be the Word of God and it
must
be planted in the ground! There we have it! God
wants us to find a field, have the right seed in our hands, and sow!
It
doesn’t take an extensive knowledge of agriculture to be a sower –
just willingness, time, a plot of ground, and some seed.
Have
you found a field where you can labor faithfully for Him?
Finally, we must be patient. The seed we sow will rarely bring an
instant harvest. Our love will be the sunshine; our tears in prayer
will be the water. Yet, the regenerating power of the Word has to
work through burial, germination, plant growth, flowers and, finally,
in due season, the harvest. The faithful sower understands the
principles of the harvest. He labors with purpose, beginning by
preparing the seed. He knows that no two crops reach harvest in the
same time period – the timing is ordered by God. Our Creator
insured in the beginning (Genesis 1:11-12) that
there would be future natural harvests when He created the plants and
the trees with
seed within.
We learn what we need to know about spiritual harvesting by studying
natural harvesting.
Has
the seed been placed within you that will bring forth a harvest?
We
live with fields all around us – big cities, small towns, and
villages. The people into whose hearts we must plant the seed are
not hard to find. They’re at home, at work, at school, on the
streets and in our neighborhoods. How do we turn barren, unprepared
soil into a harvest field? People who don’t believe in God or
know who He is are not candidates for the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Faith in Jesus Christ comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of
God! The
seed must be sown to bring forth faith!
Jesus prepared for Pentecost by adding knowledge and understanding
that would lead them to New Testament salvation. For three years He
ministered through miracles and healings, taught and preached,
rebuked the wayward and comforted the suffering. Why was He taking
so much time to lay the groundwork?
He
was preparing the ground even as He was preparing the seed.
None
of us will ever be as effective as Jesus Christ, but He expects us to
be both sowers and harvesters! Each of us can hide the Word in our
hearts and minds, find a field, and decide how to plant, using our own
chosen method. Some will pass out tracts to strangers or distribute
literature in a neighborhood; some will preach from a pulpit; some
will teach children in a Sunday School class; some will teach others
in a home; others will just speak gently and persistently with a
friend. No method is more important than another! No venue is off-limits!
The
only requirement is that we sow His Word!
The
written Word of God in a condensed version, a summary or an
introduction, is called a tract, whether evangelistic for the
unbeliever or doctrinal for the believer. Let’s supply ourselves
with Gospel literature to use wherever we walk in our fields. Let us
pray to be led by the Holy Ghost in our sowing. It is not for us to
inspect the soil. We are called to sow on all kinds of ground - good
ground and poor ground. Literature is a time and cost effective
means of connecting God with believers needing more truth or sinners
needing salvation. Literature should go out to those who don’t
know about, or, are not yet ready for, our churches.
A
literature evangelist can easily distribute more than a hundred
tracts
in
the same time that it takes to give a one-hour Bible study!
Literature
ministry fulfills the purpose of God revealed in the parable of the
marriage. The king said, “Go
ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to
the marriage.” (Matthew 22:9).
We can’t wait for them to come into our churches; we must go out
to invite them. Without a doubt, we will not be wasting our time.
“Cast
thy bread upon the waters… for thou shalt find it after many
days.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6) SOW
faithfully in faith, and in God’s time, the Harvest will come.
Why
not begin to utilize the wonderful tool of literature in your daily
life
as
you seek to win souls and lay a harvest at Jesus’ feet in eternity?
Editor's Note: Bro. Alan Demos and his wife Valerie have served as UPCI missionaries to the nation of Germany for many years. Bro. Demos skills and experience in literature ministry are legendary. In this article, he presents the concept of a literature ministry. Next month, we will feature a more in-depth look at what sowing the seed of the Word entails and the rewards it brings.
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