Harvest Danger Warning

The Harvest could yet Self Destruct

I heard the most amazing truth tonight. It is a one sentence sermon. A single phrase of such dynamism that its possibilities stretch the mind almost beyond our capacity to comprehend. It must have been God-inspired.

“The harvest will not self-reap but will self-destruct if not reaped.”

(Wayne Cordeiro – Hawaii)

In this single, incredibly powerful sentence we are confronted by the most pressing problem of the church today. Here we are, surrounded by a hurting and desperate world, yet at the same time very politically correct world, and we are confronted with a dichotomy. We are told in the Great Commandment (Mark 16:15-18) to preach the Gospel to every nation and make disciples of all men. On the other hand the world is steadily banning us from sharing our faith with anyone, “lest we upset someone”.

“The harvest will not self reap.

We all know what happens if there is a rain storm the night before harvest. It has to be left for a few days to recover – to stand up again so that the machines can cut it and reap it so as to gather the harvest in. If it doesn’t stand up again, or if it storms for a couple more nights – disaster – the harvest self destructs and rots where it lies in the field. All that perfect ripe corn lost because it wasn’t harvested at the right moment.

but will self-destruct if not reaped.”

So the laws of farming are particularly relevant to our allegorical description of the end-time harvest. There is only so much time for us to gather the harvest before it, too, will simply rot away for our lack of harvesting.

What a stark warning this is to the church – gather your harvest or lose it. But how many churches are set up to begin to harvest. Many have sown and sown but have given no particular thought to the harvest. In fact, how many churches even want to harvest? How many have sown little or nothing at all, and therefore do not expect to have to harvest? How many are happy in their present state and have no wish to disturb their status quo?

I read another pithy little statement today, too, “Revival begins with you.” 2 Timothy 4:1-5 clearly defines an evangelist and clearly warns against ‘ear-ticklers’ and those who have turned aside to false doctrines. So when a good Christian friend called me up and read this passage, as a prophecy, over me, I felt the warm tingle of excitement coursing through my veins. I felt God’s hand gently laying on me almost in confirmation of His Word on my life. I also had that feeling when I read that “Revival begins with you.”

Revival begins with you, with me, with all of us. Without we start to reap the harvest, how will it be gathered? Which part of “us” excludes you? There is not a single one of us can point at another and say, “It’s your job.” It is a Royal Commission upon each of our lives, placed there by the Lord God Almighty Himself. God does not want to lose a single soul from the harvest but the way we’re headed, and if we continue to play our own part rather than the part God wants us to play, we will miss out huge swathes of it. How then will you face the Judgement seat of Christ?

It isn’t, and never was, “his or her job”, it’s your job and I rather sense God is homing in on that one point. It is your job too. He will tell you so if you care to listen at all.