THEME: THE GREAT HARVEST
LESSON: Six
TOPIC: Understanding the Agenda of God (Understanding the Manner of the Harvest) – Part 3
TEXT: Matthew 28:18-20; 1Chronicles 12:32; Exodus 23:1-44; 1Corinthians 3:1-2; 1Peter 1-9; Hebrews 5:12-14
MEMORY TRACK:
By God’s grace, we saw from the last lesson that the new birth is not a harvest so to speak, because we only harvest what is “sown or planted”. We learnt that we only harvest what goes through the process of growth – which our spirit did not experience. Our spirit as believers was born again instantly into its present estate of life, while our souls (which is the inseparable kinfolk of the spirit) were harvested into the kingdom as seeds or grains.
Harvest of Souls (Proverbs 11:30)
For there to be harvest, according to the laws of sowing and reaping (Genesis 8:22), there has to have been a sowing. For souls to be harvested into their different levels of baskets and garners, seeds must have been planted, in this case planting of doctrine (1Corinthians 3:6; Luke 8:11).
To win, reap or harvest a soul is not the same as to get the spirit born again. A saint or much more a minister of the gospel must be wise to win a soul (Proverbs 11:30). This means that without the wisdom of God being employed there will not be a true harvest of souls unto God. The truth is, Satan and his cohorts did a work of wisdom and deception in leading the souls of men astray from God, and there will be no true harvest of souls unto God in the churches if the agency of God’s wisdom is not employed (1Corinthians 2:6-7).
The term “soul winning” can only be fully done in the church by the demonstration of God’s wisdom through preaching and teaching. This is being stressed so that we will properly discern the manner of harvest that is next after spirits have been born again.
The Tools of Harvest; The Sickles of The Gospel (Revelation 14:14-15)
The tools of and for the harvest of souls are “the Gospels or Seeds of the Word”. Without the seeds of the word, harvest is not guaranteed. One may preach many things from the Bible, but if one does not preach the prescribed and handed down seeds that The Lord Jesus Christ has sent through His Apostles in the New Testament (The Epistles), the souls of the saints may not be harvested into God’s kingdom (or into the tabernacle).
What God intends to reap are Children, Men and Fathers! Hence, He gave the seeds that can bring souls into such an estate. The seeds that God gave are “gospels”. We can say that these gospels are the three sides of the Gospel. Meaning it is one gospel, but it has three sides, with each side being what a soul needs to grow in order to be harvested. Below are these three gospels:
- Milk of the Word, which is a meal for Babies (1st Corinthians 3:1-2, Hebrews 5:13).
- Meat of the Word, which is a meal for Children (those raised by the milk) (1st Corinthians 3-2, John 4:32-35)
- Strong Meat of the Word, which is a meal for a spiritual man (those raised by the Meat of the Word) (Hebrew 5:14)
These word levels are different kinds of seeds that ought to be sown in the souls of God’s people, through preaching and teaching, for there to be harvest.
Some things to note about the soul harvest:
- In the New Testament, preaching and teaching the seed is to be done in the Church, not just something that is done on the crusade ground or elsewhere. This is because it entails planting and watering seeds of God’s wisdom through the Ministry of The Word over a good period of time (1 Corinthians 3:6-8).
- It takes time to preach the seed into the souls. Unlike getting people born again which is relatively almost instantaneous, and which does not require so much demonstration of God’s wisdom in preaching and teaching, the saving/winning of souls require a lot of time. It is spiritual education; hence, time is required to execute this. This is being said so as to encourage Christians to be relaxed in Church and allow the process required for their souls to be harvested. This is also being said to check those who believe once you are saved, you should immediately go out to save others (which is good but should not stop a saint from sitting down in Church to be fed and raised).
- The place of being pastored. No soul will grow well without being properly pastored. While being fed and taught in Church, every soul must be taught to submit to the Pastor of “their local assembly” or whomever the Pastor of that local assembly asks them to submit to in that Local Church. Hearing the teaching and preaching alone is not sufficient to grow the soul for to be harvested. This is the truth. Make sure you are submitted to a Pastor.