THEME: THE GREAT HARVEST
LESSON: Three
TOPIC: Understanding the Field
TEXT: Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43; Luke 10:1-22
MEMORY TRACK:
By God’s grace, we saw from the last lesson that there is a great connection between doing the will that Jesus did, and the harvest that He began speaking of (John 4:34-35). Truth be told, power to carry out a particular harvest is in the meal/life/doctrine of that will. Jesus knew this. He attested to being fed a meal that his disciples knew nothing about (John 4:32). We learnt that the power of harvest lies in our change. We will not be effective in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, if we are not products from the harvest.
Every Harvest needs a Field (Gen 8:22; Prov 20:4)
In truth, there is no harvest without first planting seed in a field. The field provides the ground which the seed of the Kingdom will be planted to yield the harvest of the Lord. Part of the expression of the wisdom of God is to choose to use the world as a field for growing His seed (Jam 5:7). One would wonder why of all places the Lord, according to scripture, would choose the world as the field which he is going to harvest even the trees of the Kingdom. One good reason could be that in order to fulfill the legal requirements for man to be seen as an overcomer, by all parties (enemies as well), the harvest of the Lord would have to grow under the surveillance of the god of this world (John 14:30).
Understanding the Field Today
It is good to appreciate the constant revisions to the field that have occurred over time. The enemy of the Lord’s harvest constantly seeks to make sure the field is conducive only for growing his own seeds while choking out the planting of the Lord. As a result, he keeps altering the field in a bid to prevent the seed of the Kingdom from thriving (or finding expression) and eventually overcoming the negative environment under which it has been ordained to grow (Matt 13:24-30).
Our Lord Jesus did not grow to become a candidate and eventually a recipient of the highest honour of sitting on the throne outside of this world (this world was also the field in the days of His flesh – John 1:14; Heb 5:7). The church has the enormous responsibility of keeping up with the ever-changing dynamics of the field in order to not just labor but also to grow appropriately amidst the onslaught of the evil harvester.
Preparing for the Labour in Today’s Field (Acts 1:8)
Wherever souls congregate, are open and most easily reached is what the field is in every dispensation. The Lord in His day did not just remain in the temple teaching. He also went amongst the people at times gathering them by the seaside (Matt 13:1-2), in the desert (Matt 14:15), at times in city squares (Matt 9:35), in villages (Mark 6:6-7), and other times in the open fields (Matt 5:1), wherever they could congregate in order to minister the Gospel of the Kingdom – the Apostle Paul also preached in market places too (Acts 17:16-17).
In our day we must not shy away from where people congregate in order to reach out to them. Having said that every laborer must be built above the attractions and destructions that are abundant in the field. Only then can they be an effective tool in the harvest of the Lord having himself being harvested from that same field and separated enough to be able to be sent back as one who can be a tool in the hands of the Lord. May we grow well enough to be labourers in the present field. Amen!