Harvest 2009
Why do we celebrate Harvest Festival? Ideas? The Bible mentions Harvest a lot. Lets find out about:
Harvest Past - its origin :
Harvest Future - its objective
Harvest Present - its opportunity
Harvest Past - When did Harvest Begin?
Do you know when the first Harvest Festival took place?
We don’t know the date but it is in the Bible.
“In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.” (Gen 4:3-4)
Cain and Abel were the children of Adam and Eve. From the very beginning we see people giving back to God a portion of what he had given them. What did Abel bring?
His ‘first born’. Why? To say ‘thank you’.
After the Flood, what was the first thing Noah did when he and his family and all the animals touched dry land? Give back to God. “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.” (Genesis 8:20)
Harvest Festival began as a way of saying thank you. Why?
1. Because God is the Owner
“The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” (Psalm 24:1)
“for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. (Psalm 50:10)
In our services when we receive the offering at the end of the service, we say these words “All things come from you O Lord, and of your own do we give you.” Of your own do we give you. God is the Owner.
2.
Because We are His Stewards
“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Genesis 2:15)
“the land is mine and you are foreigners - you’re my tenants.” (Leviticus 25:23)
God is the owner and we are his tenants, his servants. That is why we must look after this earth. It does not belong to us. Let me recommend some books to help us care for it.
God is the owner and we are his stewards. There’s a third reason for saying ‘thank you’ - because,
3. Because We Trust God to Provide
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31-33)
These are the three reasons we say ‘thank you’ at Harvest. If that is the origin of Harvest, what about:
Harvest Future - When will Harvest End? Its Objective
What do you dream about? What do you long for? A world free of war? Free of suffering? Free of poverty? No more war, no more pain, no more suffering. I do. You know that is precisely what is going to happen one day. God is going to do it. Jesus is coming back to do it.
“Look - God’s dwelling place is among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)
How is that going to happen? One person at a time.
Jesus says that he is like a farmer sowing seed in the world. The good news of Jesus is the seed. When we come to believe and trust in Him, we are born again and become part of his family and we receive eternal life. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells us about the consequences,
“The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. …The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.” (Matthew 13:37-39)
The world is going to be very different when Jesus returns with his angels to gather together his family. Jesus goes on to explain that when that day comes there will be a very special Harvest banquet.
“People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:29).
If we love Jesus, our role now is to help others become friends of Jesus too, so they too can be part of his Harvest. So we can all join in the ultimate celebration in heaven.
In the last chapter of the Bible we have this glorious picture:
“On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:2)
Hard as it may seem, the earth will become a paradise again. How many harvests will there be? Amazingly – 12 a year - every month - and this harvest will not just be fruit and veg. It will lead to healing and reconciliation between nations. So our Harvest Festival each year looks back to the first harvest when our ancestors first learnt to say ‘thank you’. Our Harvest Festival looks forward to the great Harvest to come when we shall be with Jesus for ever.
A Harvest that will never end! Harvest Past - its origins. Harvest Future - its objective. The challenge before us today is that the world is not yet as it should be.
Half the world is illiterate. Half the world is hungry. More than half the world still have not heard the good news of Jesus. How then can we celebrate today?
Harvest Present - Its opportunity
God tells us to do three things in our bible reading.
1. Be Faithful: Set aside a tenth
“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.” Deut. 14:22)
2. Be Thankful: Have a party
“Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.” (Deut. 14: 23)
Our Harvest celebration here last night was a direct response to this command. We celebrate Harvest by sharing a meal with one another in God’s presence.
A sacred party. Are we to blow it all on ourselves? No! Be Faithful. Be Thankful and thirdly,
3. Be Fruitful: Give to those in need
There are many ways of giving. Being less greedy and learning to live on less will result is us having more to share with others. We can all live more simply. Learn to live with less electricity, less water, less of the earth's resources, more recycling, more walking, more sharing what God has entrusted to us. This year we cannot separate Harvest from climate change. Christians all over the United Kingdom are making this a special Day of Prayer, at this critical time in our history.
We pray not just that political leaders might act but that we too may be transformed. We need to be ready to change the way we live to reflect our belief that we are indeed stewards of this world, called to care for creation, not to participate in its destruction. Poor countries are already bearing the brunt of droughts, floods and extreme weather conditions.
Our partner Tearfund has been telling us the stories of communities no longer able to live where they used to because the climate is too harsh. We pray that we may recognise our responsibilities towards others, and towards creation itself, which, in its beauty and diversity, mirrors the glory of God. 'Our destructiveness can silence creation's song of praise to God; our care for creation can be a true expression of our own praise."
Who are we to give to? God specifies two groups:
“And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.” (Deut. 14:27)
Who are our Levites today? Those who serve Jesus full-time in and through the Church. This is your first priority in giving. Our hope is that we would meet our monthly shortfall by the end of the year. Then the passage goes on to say,
“… and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied.” (Deut. 14:28-29)
That is why we have an Umthombo focus today and also why our produce will go to Yeldall Manor and their work helping those locally addicted to drugs and alcohol.
The Scriptures expressly command us to care for widows and orphans. This is the meaning of Harvest: Harvest Past - its origin - saying ‘thank you’. Harvest Future - its objective - being with God forever. Harvest Present - its opportunity - sharing in God’s work now. But if you are thinking - But I don’t know if I can afford to tithe - the Bible says - you can’t afford not to!
Why does the Lord tell us to tithe, to eat a harvest meal and share our harvest with the church and with the poor?
What does verse 29 say? “so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” (Deut. 14:29).
“so that…” So that by sharing in God’s work, we can also share in God’s blessing. What more motivation do we need?
Imagine what this world would be like if every believer in Jesus
practiced these Harvest principles? The blessing of God is promised when we
take Harvest seriously. The fruits of this earth are to be shared. The Lord
wants everyone to share in his harvest now and forever. Humanly, that is up to
us. As
the sportswear advert puts it - Lets “Just do it”.
Lets pray.