The Harvest is about the Harvest
Acts 16:9-15

† In Jesus’ Name †

May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Chirst strengthen and guide your work in His harvest!

I wonder if I would have the same reaction as Paul did to the vision of the man pleading for him to come help.

I mean Peter had a vision last week and went to a Gentiles house, Paul has a vision this week and leaves the country he’s in, both 100% sure that they are, to quote the blues brothers, on a Mission from God.

And both see the results of that mission , as Cornelius and his household, and Lydia and her household are baptized and are born again!

So how do we know where we will be sent to work in the harvest…or maybe, we already have been!

But how do we know with such certainty that we are on a mission? How do we know when we’ve reached the field that is ready to be harvested?

Do we need to have a vision? How would we recognize it if we did?

How do we know, to use Luke’s words from Acts, “that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.” ?

• The Law -Neglecting so Great a Salvation

I started the sermon wondering if I would have the same reaction to a vision as Paul did.

To be blunt, that is the wrong question to ask!

Peter and Paul’s visions were there to redefine their mission—not just start one. They were working in this field, sharing the gospel and God said, time to move fields—He didn’t change the mission, God just changed the location they were working in…

So we all work in the field where we are planted, LA and Orange County. We look for the people who are calling out for help, as the man in the vision from Macedonia did!

Who is calling out for help in your life?  A family member? A co-worker? A long lost friend? Someone with major health issues, or family issues, or whose work place is toxic. Someone you thought had it all together, only to find out their lives were like a house of cards, and the base was starting to slip. Where are the broken people around you, even the ones you see crushed by the consequences of their sin!

Perhaps especially those…

We can’t neglect their great salvation, any more than our own.

• How do we reach them?

If you look in the north-west corner of my office, the top two shelves have books about Envanelish, about church planting, and how to grow a church. Some where written in the 70’s and some in the 90’s, and some recently. All of them seem to “guarantee”  people coming to know Jesus, if you only follow what worked for them.

We’ve used a couple of those books here in the last 17 years. Joining Jesus was one, There have been others. There have been Bible Studies and still are, and we’ve tried various outreach programs, but they all have one thing in common. We go, as Jesus went, we become part of people’s lives, as Jesus did…

And that is what Paul did. This is how he reached them.

1. He heard their cry – he had gone to wear they were, and listen to their cry, even if it was only heard from observing their body language (or looking at their FB page to see if they went thrift shopping this week!)
2. Next be ready to pray for them – offer it, and pray with them aloud if possible. (This means you needed to listen, to know how to pray!) Give them the hope you have, knowing the Lord’s presence, and knowing His mercy and love
3. If the Holy Spirit opens their heart, have some kleenex ready… there may be a flood of tears – good, joyful tears..

Remember – other Christians need to be reminded of God’s presence and grace often.

SO that all may know God’s peace, which is there for them, the peace that like God’s love, goes beyond all understanding, but in which we are guarded by Jesus!

Amen!