One of the most troubling verses in the Bible to me is Jeremiah 8:20, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Possibly the next most unsettling verse is Joel 1:11, “Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.” These verses upset me because I have a sincere desire to do the work of the Lord and prove myself profitable in His harvest fields. Yet these verses remind me that it is possible to miss the harvest and let the Lord’s provisions slip through our fingers. Many of us are missing the harvest simply because we are not properly equipped. In trying to prepare ourselves to bring in the full harvest, we need to think of the tools we will need for each stage of the cultivation cycle: planting, tending, and reaping.
The first thing we may need would be a map to show us where to sow our seed. When receiving the church offering, Dr. Lester Sumrall often used an illustration that there was no use planting seed on the asphalt of the church parking lot because it would not germinate there. His point was that it was useless to give finances into barren ministries; instead, we need to find fertile ministries into which we can sow our financial seed. Likewise, we need to know where the fertile soils for our spiritual labors are. We must have a map to know which fields are ours to labor in and which fields we should leave for others to cultivate. If we try to sow in the wrong place, we will certainly find that our efforts are futile and we will most likely regret the harvest we will produce. The prophet Hosea graphically described just such a situation.
For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. (verse 8:7)
We have already discussed some aspects of this map in the chapter entitled “Discernment for the Harvest”; however, let’s quickly review a couple highlights at this juncture in our study. The New Testament gives us a number of examples of dramatic directions from the Lord as to where the disciples were to labor. In Matthew 10:5, Jesus told the twelve that they should not go into the way of the Gentiles or into any city of the Samaritans. However, by the end of this same gospel, Jesus broadened His directive and sent them into a world-wide harvest field. (Matthew 28:19) The Apostle Paul was expressly forbidden by the Holy Spirit to minister in Asia and then prompted by a dream to head toward Europe. (Acts 16:6, 9) Peter was directed by the Holy Spirit to accompany the messengers to Cornelius’ house where he brought in the first Gentile harvest for the Christian church. (Acts 11:12)
The second implement we will need when preparing for a harvest is a tiller for the soil. Once we find the proper field, we must prepare it for the seed by removing the stones, breaking up the hardened ground, killing the weeds, fertilizing the soil, and irrigating the field if necessary.
Next we are ready to select our seed and begin to plant it. The scriptures give us some explicit instructions concerning selecting our seed. Galatians 6:7 warns, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” If we sow good seed, we will reap a harvest of good things; evil can produce nothing but evil. The wise man Solomon twice repeated his warning concerning sowing discord or strife among those around us. (Proverbs 6:14,19) Jesus intensified the warning concerning taking caution as to the seed we sow by reminding us that we will receive an abundant increase on whatever we sow — whether it be evil seed such as judgment or good seed such as forgiveness.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. (Luke 6:37-38)
Once the soil is readied and the seed selected, we will need a seed spreader for dispersing the seed. Both the preparation of the soil and the spreading of the seed have been discussed in the chapter entitled “Seed for the Harvest.”
The next item on our shopping list may seem a bit strange, but it is necessary for us to have an ample supply of tissues. Yes, tissues! When the Psalmist wrote, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him,” (verse 126:6) he was setting forth a very valuable truth about obtaining a harvest. If we are going to have a harvest that causes us to celebrate, we must plant precious seed, something that hurts us to sow. Maybe it is kindness toward someone who is less than kind to us; maybe it is finances that we really need to reserve for our own needs; maybe it is time that we wanted to spend relaxing; maybe it sharing the gospel with someone who doesn’t really want to hear it; maybe it is going to a foreign country where the living conditions are not as amenable as at home — whatever it is, we must have the same heart attitude as King David when he refused Araunah’s offer of the threshing floor, oxen, and equipment needed to make a sacrifice to the Lord during a time of pestilence in Jerusalem.
And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. (II Samuel 24:24)
Work gloves should also be a top priority on our list for harvesting equipment. There was a time in the Garden of Eden that the earth brought forth on its own without any human intervention.
And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:12)
However, ever since Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, man has had to bring in his harvest by the sweat of his brow.
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3:19)
It was only after the fall (actually jump, because “fall” indicates an accident whereas Adam’s action was deliberate) of man, that God instituted the whole process of sowing and reaping or seedtime and harvest.
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22)
Even though many Christians might wish to consider “work” to be a four-letter word, the Bible clearly indicates that our spiritual produce will come with physical labor. Paul spoke of the ministry as work in Ephesians 4:12. In II Timothy 4:5, he told his son in the faith to do the work of an evangelist. He spoke of his own abundant labors in II Corinthians 11:23 and I Corinthians 4:12. From Acts 18:3, we learn that he maintained a secular occupation as a tentmaker in addition to his apostolic ministry. Jesus even made Peter go back to his natural occupation as a fisherman when his taxes came due. (Matthew 17:27) King Solomon summed up the necessity of diligent work in obtaining one’s harvest.
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing. (Proverbs 20:4)
While at the farm supply store, we must not forget to pick up plenty of garden hoses. Water is essential for any living thing to grow and stay healthy. The scriptures depict the spiritually productive life with the imagery of a well watered garden or orchard.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalms 1:3)
And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. (Isaiah 58:11)
The very presence of God Himself is described as the water that sustains our spiritual lives. The Psalmist declares that his soul pants after God as desperately as a thirsty deer does for the refreshing cool streams of water. (verse 42:1) In Psalm 72:6, we are promised the visitation of the Lord as showers upon the earth. At least three times the Prophet Isaiah affirmed that God’s presence would water our dry lands and cause them to become productive. (verses 35:7, 41:18, 44:3-4) Isaiah 12:3 says that our salvation is the well out of which we can draw the water of joy. In John 4:6-14, Jesus explained that He was the living water which could produce an inner spring within our souls that would perpetually satisfy our spiritual thirst. A few chapters later, He illustrated that the Holy Spirit can also be a source of abundant waters which can flow from the inner heart of the believer. (John 7:37-39)
Just as we often have to supplement the natural rainfall in our physical gardens with some form of irrigation, spiritual harvests must also be watered. In fact, Jeremiah 2:13 declares that the people of his day had committed two great evils: 1) they had neglected His watering, and 2) they had failed to care for the irrigation system to augment His personal watering.
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
We can interpret that irrigation system to be teaching from the Word of God. Ephesians 5:26 specifically identifies the two and we can interpret the watering by Apollos mentioned in I Corinthians 3:6 as teaching since Apollos was recognized as an eloquent teacher who was mighty in the Word of God. (Acts 18:24) If we want to see a harvest, we must not only plant seed, but we must also water that seed with the manifestation of the total Trinity in our lives and a daily supplement of the Word of God.
My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass. (Deuteronomy 32:2)
He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. (Psalms 72:6)
And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. (Ezekiel 34:26)
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. (Hosea 6:3)
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. (Hosea 10:12)
A spade for digging out weeds is another requirement if we plan to see a harvest in our lives. In a previous section I have already dealt with the thorns and thistles which try to choke out our harvest, but at this juncture, I’d like to add just one other thought concerning the weeds which grow in our minds. If we allow thoughts to take root in our lives, they can become weeds which choke the very life out of our spiritual seeds. Second Corinthians 10:4-5 defines these entrenched malignant thoughts as strongholds and shows us how to deal with them.
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
To understand the significance of a stronghold, let’s look at the story of David’s conquest of Jerusalem. Until David took the city, it had never been captured. When Joshua came into the Promised Land, he defeated the king of Jerusalem, but the city itself was never taken. (Joshua 10:23) The Jebusites boasted that Jerusalem was so secure that its guards were the blind and the lame men. (II Samuel 5:6) Because its natural position made it virtually invincible, it was unnecessary to position the able-bodied soldiers there. These strong warriors were used elsewhere while the rejects defended the city. David outfoxed the Jebusites by sending some men up the water duct to take the city from the inside. After David took the city, Jerusalem then became his stronghold. (II Samuel 5:7-9) From the city of Jerusalem, we learn a lesson concerning strongholds: their power is in their natural position. You don’t have to have a strong warrior inside a stronghold to be able to protect it because the stronghold itself is its own protection. The devil doesn’t have to be strong. He could be blind and crippled — but if he gets inside our stronghold, he can exercise exousia (delegated authority). He doesn’t have to exercise dunamis (explosive strength, ability, and power) or kratos (power). When the devil gets inside our thinking and begins to feed us with lies and deception, he saps whatever dunamis (dynamic energy and power) is inside us. On the other hand, the truth can get inside our stronghold and make it just as strong a fortification for the truth as it was for the devil’s lies. The power of our mind is incredible. “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” When we listen to the evil thoughts of defeat and we receive those thoughts, we are defeated. When the thoughts of God get into our minds and our spirits and fill us with thoughts of success, we are successful. Just as David transformed the city of the Jebusites into his prized capital, Jesus is intent upon taking the strongholds of Satan and making them His treasured show places.
For many years when I read this passage, I thought that the “things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God” were things like atheism which says there is no God. I thought that Paul was saying that the weapons of my warfare were for the purpose of destroying the arguments of the people who say there is no God. In actuality, this is not at all what this passage is saying. Our weapons are strong enough to destroy all the arguments against any area of the knowledge about God. There are lots of things that we should know about God; however, for some reason, we don’t because there is an idea that has gotten into our heads which keeps the true knowledge of God from getting into us. We know that God exists, but we fail to attain the true knowledge of who God is and what God does. God is Jehovah Tsidkenu, which means that He is the God of our righteousness. The day that Jesus came into our lives, His righteousness came into us. However, the devil will come to each and every one of us with accusations to combat our righteousness consciousness. If that lie penetrates into our minds and we agree with it, he begins to build a stronghold against the knowledge of God’s righteousness within us. God is also Jehovah Rapha — the God who heals all of our diseases — but the devil wants to plant lies inside us saying that our ailment is either too big for God to heal or too insignificant for Him to notice. The truth is that God is just as willing to heal the little aches and pains as He is willing to heal cancer. He is just as able to heal the most dreaded plague as He is able to cure a minor ailment. We can go through all the redemptive names and qualities of God to learn what we should be thinking about God. Anytime we allow thoughts contrary to these truths into our hearts, we have permitted the enemy to use his deceit to begin a stronghold in our minds.
A good fence is also a necessity if we intend to see a harvest from our labors. The Song of Solomon 2:15 admonishes us that the little foxes can spoil the vines when the grapes are tender. However, a well maintained fence can keep out any predator, even the little foxes. In the story of Job we see that he was quarantined from the devil himself by the hedge of God. (verse 1:10)
The New Testament promises us a seal by the Holy Spirit for our spiritual protection. (Ephesians 1:13) To understand the power of a seal we have to think no farther than our medicine cabinet or kitchen cupboard. Most of the products that we purchase in the pharmacy or supermarket come packaged with a plastic seal to insure purity. This is because someone once contaminated a large shipment of headache medicine with a deadly poison. After several people died from taking the tainted medication, the company recalled millions of bottles from the stores and initiated a campaign to inform the general public of the potential danger in their medicine cabinet, guaranteeing a refund and a replacement with safe medicine if the customers would return their tablets. After that incident, the company began packaging all their products with tamper-proof seals and labels warning that the product should not be used if the seal was broken. A similar incident with candy bars in India prompted the manufacturer there to recall millions of pounds of chocolate bars and begin to double-wrap and double-seal their products. We may think that this sort of security measure is a modern innovation; however, God has been using it since the first century. The seal of the Holy Spirit is that little sensation (or should we say sinsation) that we have in our spirit man when we start to sin, lust, or rebel. From the moment we are born again, the quickened spirit within us is sensitized to right and wrong, and it sends out a warning signal every time we tend toward wrong and away from right. If we don’t tamper with that seal, we will be guaranteed to be contamination free.
An exercise machine may seem an unlikely addition to our shopping list; however, it is important that we constantly keep ourselves in shape so that we will have the necessary stamina when harvest time comes. If we are exhausted in the weeding time, what will do when we need to work around the clock in harvest? If you have ever been on a large-scale wheat farm during harvest season, you will know that the farmers have headlights on their combines so that they can run them all night long as well as during the daylight hours. Jeremiah phrased it this way:
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? (verse 12:5)
In addition to all that we have studied in the section entitled “Stamina for the Harvest,” let me just take this space to remind us that we must prepare ourselves for the spiritual harvest through a daily exercise regiment of prayer and Bible study.
And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. (Acts 24:16)
But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. (I Timothy 4:7-8)
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14)
Another excellent suggestion for our list would be a good pair of glasses so we can adequately see the harvest. You will remember from our discussion in the chapter on “Discernment for the Harvest” that we have to have clear vision to recognize the harvest and see when it is ready.
A calendar would be another important item so that we can keep track of our timing for the harvest. Just as Jesus admonished the disciples in John chapter four that they should not think that harvest was still several months away, we need to be able to track our progress so that we will recognize when the harvest is ready to be brought in. In Matthew chapter twenty-four, Jesus gave the disciples an outline of the future — sort of a road map to the end of time. In that discourse, He gave us one major indication of the nearness of the final harvest.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)
If we do not want to be like those unfortunate ones referred to in Jeremiah and Joel which we discussed in the opening passages of this section because they missed their harvest time, we must keep posted as to how close we are living to the end of the harvest season.
Different crops mature at different times of the year and the same crop will mature at a different season depending on the location where it is being raised. When we lived in North Carolina, we loved to go to the pick-your-own strawberry fields every April. Soon after we moved to Indiana, I discovered a strawberry patch not far from our home and suggested that we make a trip out there on a sunny April afternoon. When we arrived at the farm, we learned that the crop was not expected to mature until June. Just as the difference on the climates of the two locations greatly affected the harvest times of the strawberries, different spiritual harvests are also ready at different times. In Luke 19:44, Jesus lamented over the city of Jerusalem because they did not recognize their day of visitation. As we learned in the chapter on “Discernment for the Harvest,” there was an appointed time for Israel’s restoration out of Babylonian captivity; Daniel had to understand when those seventy years were up before he could begin to act. Had he “jumped the gun” or dragged behind schedule, he would have missed the appointed day of visitation. We, too, must be able to recognize when it is time for the harvest we are assigned to, or else we will fail to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16) and work while it is the day of harvest (John 9:4).
In the year 1900, a mission magazine reported that Korea was the hardest mission field in the world; however, by the year 2000 — just 100 years later — Korea boasted of the largest church in the world. Though Christianity had a long history in the Philippines, there had never been a true revival in the nation until Lester Sumrall encountered a little demon-possessed girl in the city prison. When news of her dramatic deliverance swept though the nation, more than one hundred and fifty thousand were saved in just six weeks. Until recently, there were no believers among the pigmy tribes of Africa; however, when the harvest time came more than three hundred thousand turned to Christ in less than five years. Burma was the field of the first American missionary to head out to foreign lands. He spent some twenty years sowing, plowing, and watering before he received his first convert; even then, the nation was not very open to the faith and has remained resistant for decades. It was only recently that one of the leading Buddhist priests died and went to hell but was miraculously restored to live to tell the story about what he saw when he crossed over to the other side. His testimony confirmed the teachings of the Christian ministers and broke the barrier of resistance to the faith. Now, the nation is experiencing an unprecedented harvest of souls. Before 1990, it was illegal to even own a Bible in the Hindu kingdom of Nepal. However, things miraculously changed when their day of visitation came.
I have witnessed such eager crowds of Nepalese thronging our mission team, clambering for the gospel literature that we were distributing, that the police showed up for crowd control. Rather than arresting us for proselytizing, the police offered to help pass out tracts to the eager crowd. In a nation where some fifty years ago you could count the Christians on your fingers, the church is growing at such a mind-boggling rate that one of the nation’s senators told me that almost half of the citizens in his district were Christians. Just one story should suffice to illustrate the readiness of the harvest in this Himalayan nation. In many of the remote villages, the only form of entertainment the people have is to gather at the Hindu temple each night for the priest (who is often the only one in the village who can read and write) to read to them. When one of the men in one of these out-of-the-way villages received a Bible, he offered it to the priest for his story hour readings. The result was that the entire village came to Christ as the Hindu priest read the Bible to them! We are living in the harvest in many parts of the world, but we must be keenly aware of when and where the harvest is ready so that we don’t arrive at the fields with too little, too late.
Another necessary implement is an alarm clock to make sure that we wake up in time. When it is still growing season, we can have the luxury of a little extra rest, but we must not sleep when it is harvest time.
And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. (Mark 4:26-29)
He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame. (Proverbs 10:5)
As we have trudged through the unusual list of tissues, exercise equipment, and alarm clocks, I am sure you’ve all been wondering if we would ever get to the obvious harvesting equipment. Now, we finally come to the farm implement that I’m sure everyone has been thinking about since you read the title of this section: the sickle. As I have traveled through some of the developing nations around the world, I have had the opportunity to witness the way people live in many different cultures, including the primitive conditions in which they harvest their grain. In Nepal, I’ve watched as the women went into the wheat fields with hand sickles to gather the harvest one handful at a time. With a large sickle, or a scythe, a worker can harvest larger quantities of grain at a time, but he is still limited to one armload at a swath. Dr. Lester Sumrall once wrote of having a vision which prompted him to rethink his efforts as a minister. In the vision, he saw two fields. One was being tended by a little Arab farmer with a camel-drawn plow. He was able to harvest his crop by the basketful. In the second field, an Israeli farmer with a tractor and combine was harvesting his crop by the truckload. The antiquated system would take days to do the same task that the modern equipment could accomplish within a few hours. In the same way, we must determine that we must be properly equipped if we are to bring in the full spiritual harvest in a timely manner.
One of the most important ways of equipping ourselves for the harvest is to be full of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was adamant that the disciples not go out into the harvest field until they were first empowered by the Holy Spirit. (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8) One of the Holy Spirit’s major roles in the life of a believer is to enable him as a witness. He works through several different means in order to fully make each person an adequate witness. One area in which the Holy Spirit empowers our witness is that He makes our lives more attractive to unbelievers through the fruit of the spirit. The Apostle Paul described two radically different lifestyles in the fifth chapter of Galatians. One he called the “works of the flesh”; the other he labeled as the “fruit of the spirit.” Even a quick look through these two lists of qualities will allow us to see the attractiveness of the spiritual life and the repulsiveness of the fleshly life. When an unbeliever sees a person living in love, joy, and peace rather than envy, strife, and malice, he is drawn to that person and wonders what is his secret to such a successful and productive life.
Not far from my house in Indiana was a large apple tree. I drove past it on a regular basis and paid no attention to it. However, in the late summer and early fall of each year I suddenly began to take notice of that special tree. The reason that this poor tree that had never caught my eye all year long was because it was barren; however, now it was the focus of my attention because of the apples it was now producing! Bearing fruit made that tree attractive to me; in the same manner, when your life begins to bear fruit, you will become attractive to the unbelievers around you.
I worked one summer as a front desk clerk in Yosemite National Park — a job which came with some rather unusual items on the job description. One was to help calm down and re-assign any guests who experienced unexpected “guests” in their rooms — bears! On one particular day, there was an exceptionally heavy load of new guests checking in at the same time we seemed to have an incredible number of bears also trying to check into the rooms. Our lobby soon began to overflow as we became more and more backlogged because of the disruption of the bears prowling around the facility. Before long, our guests were standing outside the front door; eventually the line stretched across the parking lot to the shade of the Douglas firs on the other side of the pavement. When one lady eventually made her way to the front of the line, she smiled at me and asked, “How do you do that?” I was just ready to hold up the room assignment card and show her how I filled in all the blanks and then assigned the room; but I realized that she must be inquiring about something more substantial than how to complete the form, so I asked, “How do I do what?” Her reply was, “Keep smiling in the midst of all this.” My response was that it was because I had joy as a manifestation of the fruit of the spirit in my life. I did not have to witness to her — I was a witness because the fruit of the spirit was showing effortlessly through my life.
Secondly, the Holy Spirit empowers our witness in that He gives believers supernatural abilities that draw the unbelievers’ attention. The people who totally ignore you will suddenly begin to listen and respond when you lay your hands on them and deliver them from their sicknesses. First Corinthians chapter twelve enumerates nine supernatural enduments that the believer can receive from the Holy Spirit. Many of the gifts are described in action as we read the story of the early church. Acts chapter two tells how that three thousand people were converted when they heard the disciples speaking supernaturally in languages that they had not learned. In Acts chapter three, the response multiples to five thousand when Peter and John ministered healing to a lame man. The story continues to unfold with other miraculous healings, a woman raised from the dead, and a man supernaturally preserved after what should have been a deadly snakebite. In each case, the unbelievers were irresistibly drawn to Jesus through the witness of the power of the Holy Spirit through the believers.
C. Peter Wagner tells of his days as an instructor of the “Signs and Wonders” class at Fuller Seminary. In that course, he encouraged students to begin to exercise the power of the Holy Spirit in their daily ministry and expect that the sick to recover if they laid hands on and to anticipate that demons really would come out if they used the name of Jesus against them. He testifies that many of his students were former graduates who took the class while home on furlough from the mission field. A number of these missionaries wrote back to him after returning to their mission stations to say that they had labored fruitlessly before taking his class, but that now they were seeing continual results in their ministries since they were ministering with supernatural signs from the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit also empowers believers in their witness through their words. The very choice of what words are to be said and the boldness to speak them out come from the Holy Spirit Himself. Consequently, the very direction of where to be and what to do when you get there is an important factor in the believer’s power to witness through the Holy Spirit.
In addition to the direct intervention of the Holy Spirit, we also need the vision and faith that He inspires so that we can have the insight to envision and then the faith to finance large-scale harvesting projects such as television, mass media, and publications. When there are millions of acres that are producing, we can’t be limited to a sickle; we must have the most advanced harvesting skills and equipment available.
Next, I would suggest a good shotgun as a protection for the harvest. In the Bible, we find a number of references to the need to defend the harvest once it is ripe and ready to be gathered in. We may all remember the story of Gideon’s hiding behind the wine press as he threshed out his wheat. (Judges 6:11) Gideon’s logic in his choice of a place to thresh his grain was to mislead the Midianite marauders who made a habit of invading Israel to plunder the harvest which the Israelites had labored all through the growing season to produce. Second Samuel 23:11 tells the story of Shammah who found himself in a similar situation against the Philistines who intended to rob him of his lentil harvest. Isaiah 1:8 speaks of “a cottage in a vineyard” and “a lodge in a garden of cucumbers,” references to the practice of building temporary huts in the fields so that sentries could stand guard round the clock during the harvest. Jeremiah’s severe warning is that we can and will lose our harvest to the hands of our enemies if we are not able to defend it.
And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. (Jeremiah 5:17)
I once read of a farmer in Joy, Kentucky, who really had no reason to say that he was living in joy because someone slipped onto his property during the night and stole fifty-five acres of popcorn while he slept. My uncle went to the beach to enjoy the last weekend of summer before beginning the harvest of his apple crop. He returned only to discover that someone had trespassed onto his property and taken every apple during his absence! It has been estimated that over one billion dollars worth of farm produce is stolen each year. By the same token, we must learn to deal with our enemy before he takes our harvest. The devil is ready to “eat our lunch” if we don’t resist him and protect ourselves and our spiritual harvest with the armor of God.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (I Peter 5:8-9)
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. (Ephesians 6:10-18)
We will need at least three baskets when our harvest comes in. The first basket will be for the Lord because the first fruits of all our increase belong to Him.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest. (Leviticus 23:10)
The second basket will be for the unfortunate because we must always take part of what we have been blessed with and distribute it to those in need.
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. (Leviticus 19:9)
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 23:22)
That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. (Leviticus 25:5)
When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. (Deuteronomy 24:19)
Of course, one basket is for our own needs. It is a scriptural principal that anyone who labors should enjoy the fruit of his labors. Even when the labor is in the spiritual realm, God promises a physical (and even fiscal) harvest.
Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. (Deuteronomy 28:5)
For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. (Deuteronomy 25:4, I Timothy 5:18)
The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. (II Timothy 2:6)
For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? (I Corinthians 9:9-11)
The major caution we must take in filling our basket is that we do not begin to feel that the harvest is all for our own sake. God labeled the man a fool who wanted to keep all the harvest for himself.
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:16-21)
Beyond the basket is a barn for storing the harvest. One important lesson to remember about barns is that you have to build them before the harvest comes in. Bro. Sumrall made this point very powerfully when he told the story of building a church in the Philippines to seat two thousand five hundred when his congregation consisted of only his family and the custodian. He was confronted by every possible authority — from the head of his denomination to the director of the Bible society — accusing him of making the church into the laughingstock of the country since there were probably only that many Christians in all the Protestant churches of Manila at the time. Bro. Sumrall refused to listen to their challenges because he had a directive from the Lord that there was a revival coming and there needed to a barn big enough to hold the harvest. Just before the building was completed, there was a mighty move of God which brought thousands of souls into the kingdom. When the church was dedicated, the masses overflowed the building and congested the roadways and sidewalks for blocks. Had he not followed the Lord’s plan, that great harvest would have “rotted in the field.” We must ask if we are really prepared to handle the kind of blessing that God wants to send.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:10)
Next I would suggest some dancing shoes since every harvest is to be accompanied with thanksgiving, feasting, and celebrating.
And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. (Exodus 23:16)
And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end. (Exodus 34:22)
A Sunday suit should also be on our list since God does not want us to fail to have worship time even during harvest. We cannot get so involved in the work of the Lord that we miss the Lord of the work, nor can we get so involved in the blessing of God that we forget the God of the blessing.
Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. (Exodus 31:15)
One last item I wish to mention is a jar for storing seeds for the next planting season. In every harvest, the Lord includes the embryo of the next harvest cycle. The same grain that can be made into bread can also be stored as seed for planting. God created every fruit and vegetable with seeds to propagate the next generation. Apples do not have seeds; the truth of nature is that apple seeds have apples around them. The true purpose of any fruit is for regenerating and distributing the seeds they are wrapped around. The fruit attracts the animals and humans which transport the seed to its next germination spot.
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: (Isaiah 55:10)
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) (II Corinthians 9:10)
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. (Genesis 1:29)
However, if we do not save those seeds, we truncate the possibility of a future crop. I will always remember the quizzical look on my little son’s face when he watched me toss the hundreds of seeds we had just scraped from a pumpkin as he commented that if we would keep them for planting we would never have to buy another pumpkin as long as we lived. Unfortunately, we often abort the plan of God for our future harvests by wasting our harvest seed just as I did with those pumpkin seeds.
Remember that harvest is not the end; it is only beginning. Each harvest is only part of the cycle toward a future one!