Harvest Time

Opening illustration: When we arrived in Iowa in 2007, we had no idea what we were getting into. But one thing was clear, God had brought us here for His plan and purpose that He alone could fulfill through our lives. Maureena and I were on a God-given mission and were bent upon accomplishing it. How much time it took was not our agenda. Our focus is like Jesus focused on the cross – His face was like flint! We are here to get the job done.

It took 100 years for Abraham to have his first spiritual fruit (harvest), Joseph was in a spot where he was responsible for the harvest in Egypt. First 7 seven years of plentiful but then the next seven years of drought and famine. He was smart and wise at the same time to capitalize on the 7 years of harvest. Moses saw the fruit and harvest after 40 years but did not get an opportunity to enjoy it – only see it from afar.

We already had 3 years of experience with the American church on the East coast and had some idea what the church would probably look like in the mid-west. Most folks in the church who professed to be believers were culturally sound. They had compartmentalized God who was only present on Sunday mornings while being absent otherwise. The church needed as much re-evangelizing as the unchurched.

Most of the folks at church were older men and women who thought they did not need any transformation and continually dwelt on their personal family problems. The mold infested building took away 50% of our time, 20% of the time went in unnecessary meetings, 25% of the time went in dealing with individual family problems and 5% doing ministry. Is this the reason why God brought us to America? Not really! We had to rethink and revamp the ministry. Sunny was the only young guy at the church. We tried to get rid of him by coaxing him to find a church of his peers. He did not budge. Then couple of years from the time we arrived, came an underaged kid to church who was living on the edge. He was there every Sunday morning sitting in the back pews listening attentively and jotting down notes. Throughout the week he would text me his queries and questionnaires which I gladly answered. I tried not to let any stone go unturned. He is the first fruit and harvest of our ministry in Iowa – Austin Hoffon. Though this is history, but it turned him into a disciple who is now a soul-winner and a disciple-maker. This is just one of the success stories in the pending harvest. What do we do when we see the ripe fields before us? Iowa is surely the “fields of opportunities.”

Introduction: Is it true, “All we ever learn from history is that we never learn from history?” I certainly hope that is never true for us, the people of God. It was not true for the Psalmist. As a matter of fact, I am convinced the experiences of the past can serve as inspiration and instruction for our present and future.

This is a special Psalm to those who are in the church of Jesus Christ. It speaks to us of what the Lord has done for us in saving us and it also reminds us that God has a plan to bless us and use us for His glory into the future. When this Psalm is preached in churches, often only the last two verses are used. They are used to challenge the church to be active in outreach into a lost and dying world. Today, I want to consider all six verses of this precious Psalm. There are three powerful lessons that I want us to glean from these verses this evening. As we do, I want us to see the Lord and what He has done in and what He longs to do through us.

What should the church do with the harvest?

1. Celebrate the plenitude of the past harvest (vs. 1-3)

To understand this Psalm, let us identify the environment. It is couched in the celebration of God's people for the recent blessings experienced. The setting could be that of a pilgrim who has completed the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He looks back to the day when the possibility of going to Jerusalem was like a dream - and he says so to his fellow-pilgrims. The dream had become reality. Or it could have been the captives returning from Babylon.

Now the people celebrate, v. 2a. The nations confess God has done great things for them, v. 2b, 3a. They celebrate God's great blessings!

Part of our purpose today is to celebrate the great things God has recently done for us, to us, and through us! We certainly have cause to celebrate.