Matt. 9:37, Luke 10:2, John 4:35

Recurrent though.

You may not be allowed to stand on the pulpit in your church to preach, but every junction in your area is a pulpit, stand there and preach. – Reinhard Bonnke.

Introduction.

ICA declared 2025, a year of great harvest! For us to have great harvest, we should be willing to win souls in any way possible.                                  

Harvesting soul is the all-important job of bringing unsaved people to the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew 9:37, Luke 10:2, John 4:35, Jesus speaks directly to His disciples about the Kingdom harvest.                                            

The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few, meaning there is a lot of work to be done but not enough people to do it.                                              

This verse describes Jesus great compassion while looking out over crowds of people who have come to see him.                                                 

Jesus was asking His followers to pray for more labourers to help with the harvest. Jesus was calling on his followers to share the gospel with people who need to hear it. Jesus uses this analogy to highlight the fact that there are a lot of persons who need to be cared for and brought to God. Jesus also used harvest in parables when He spoke to the crowds (Matthew 13:30, 39, Mark 4:29). Since the harvest Jesus spoke of is human souls, the great commission has much to do with a righteous harvest (Matthew 28:18-20).                                                                                  

We Christians are the harvest and we are enable to re-seed by sharing the good news of Jesus.

Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he who wins souls is wise. He who tells others about Christ is, in effect, presenting to them “a tree of life.”

There are many reasons why we should be harvesters of soul; here are six reasons.

1. Harvesting Soul was the first command of Jesus Christ to all of us; His disciples.                                                                                            
   • The first thing that Jesus told His disciples when He met them was: Matthew 4:19 – And he said unto them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (the greatest call of all).
   • When Andrew finds the Messiah, the first inclination is to find one’s relatives to tell them the good news.                                            John 1:35-42 – The first two disciples of Jesus were Andrew and John. Andrew was brother to Peter (John 6:8, Matt 4:18, Mark 1:29, 13:3). Both were in a fishing business with the two brothers, James and John, who were the sons of Zebedee. When John the Baptist announced that Jesus was the Lamb of God, Andrew willingly believed. He first brought his own brother Simon to Jesus-Christ; this is the work of every disciple who finds Jesus. Those who are of a receptive heart as Andrew will bring people to Jesus. Simon’s name was changed to Peter, whom God in heaven revealed that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living God (Matthew 16:16-20).
   • “If a believer in Christ did not preach in his first two years of his conversion, he may not likely open his mouth again to preach ” Watchman Nee.                                                                     
   • The whole idea of taking Andrew and John away from their learned trade of fishing was to make them harvesters of souls.
   • Two categories of disciples; to some He requested them to leave the net and follow Him [Signifies a complete and immediate departure from one’s former life, occupation, and commitments to fully embrace a life dedicated to Jesus].
   • To others; carry your tents and follow me [Suggests a more adaptable and flexible approach where individuals maintain their occupations while still prioritizing their faith and following Jesus’ teachings].               
   • These disciples left work, homes and family in order to follow Jesus (Matt. 4:22-23, 10:37-39, Mark 10:28, Luke 9:23). They knew the cost of discipleship. They realized that what they found was greater than what they had.
   • Brothers and Sister, those who would bring great revival in Malawi/ Lilongwe are still at Bwandiro womanizing, they are still somewhere waiting for you to go and preach to them the word of God. It took a young lady like you to speak the word of God to David Yonggi Cho in those days for revival in South Korea.  DYC was raised in a Buddhist family, converted to Christianity at the age of 17 years old. He contracted tuberculosis during the Korean war and was told he had only a few months to live. A young Christian woman visited him, sharing the story of Jesus and the gospel while he was sick, despite his initial resistance. DYC prayed to Jesus for healing and, according to his testimony, experienced a miraculous recovery from his illness. He then dedicated his life to God and the ministry, eventually founding the Yoido Full Gospel Church, which became the world’s largest congregation. For Cho, he attributed the church’s growth to the power of prayer, emphasizing that it was not due to his own efforts.  
   • Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men, harvesting souls was the first command of Jesus Christ to all of us as His disciples.  
2. We must harvest soul because harvesting soul was the last command of Jesus Christ to all of us, His disciples.            
   • On a lovely hill with eleven disciples, Jesus issued His last emotional command.
   • Mark 16:15 – And he said unto them, go ye into the entire world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
   • Matthew 28:19 – Going, therefore, disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
   • I was watching a documentary on plane crash, as it flew over some mountains, it developed a serious problem, and the pilot informed everyone on board that they were going to crash; indeed they crashed and everyone on board was killed.
   • It seemed as if they had about ten or fifteen minutes before they eventually crashed. Many of the passengers wrote notes and messages to their loved ones while they could. I will never forget that scene on television. I couldn’t help but wonder what those last messages and notes contained. Anyone who knows he is going away forever would probably give a very important message as his last word.
   • The last words of a man are probably the most important words that he will ever speak.
   • So what were Jesus’ last words? Did Jesus say, “Go and make people rich? Did he say, “Go and build hospitals and schools?”   He did not!
   • He said the church should go out and preach the Gospel in as many countries as possible.
   • He told us to travel far and wide with the good news of the kingdom.
3. We must be harvesters of soul because “the great commission is not an option to be considered. It is a command to be obeyed “Hudson Taylor”
   • James Hudson Taylor was a British Protestant Christian Missionary to China and founder of the China Inland Mission. Taylor spent 54 years in China. Died on 3rdJune, 1905 at the age of 73 in China.                                                                                  
   • The great commission is not optional; it is a command to be obeyed. If you claim to be a Christian, you must obey the command “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19-20). Mark 16:15-16 – And he said unto them, go ye into the entire world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
   • All records of the gospel mention a commission that Jesus gives to the disciples to take the good news to the world. It is a command; the great commission is not an option.
   • You can’t choose when you obey the great commission. You can’t just obey the great commission when you are comfortable, or when everything is going well. We must win soul because that is the great commission, great command, great mandate, great instruction, great order given to us by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
   • Studied together, Jesus commissioned the disciples to:
     1. Preach Jesus in order to make disciples for Jesus. 
     2. Preach the gospel of His death for our sins and resurrection for our hope in order that men might be saved.
     3. Immerse disciples in water, and
     4. Teach the word of Jesus to immerse disciples.                                                                                  
   • 1.Samuel 15:22 – And Samuel said, has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
   • In this verse, the prophet Samuel is speaking to King Saul, asking if the prefers burnt offerings and sacrifices or obedience to the lord’s voice. The verse implies that following rules and instructions is more important than making a grand gesture or offering something up. The Old Testament teaches that blessings come from following the Lord by obeying his prophets. 
   • The Christian is not obedient unless he is doing all in his power to send the gospel to the heathen world. – A. B. Simpson. 
4. We must be harvesters of soul because “If you found a cure for cancer, wouldn’t it be inconceivable to hide it from the rest of mankind. How much inconceivable to keep silent the cure from the eternal wages of death” Dave Davidson.
   • For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).
   • The end reward for a life of sin is eternal destruction from the presence of God (Isaiah 59:2; 2. Thessalonians 1:7-9). Eternal life in Christ is a free gift (Romans 2:7; 1. Peter 1:4).
   • In the day of good news, the lepers did not keep silent and hid it from the rest of the starving. We must not keep silent and hide it from the rest of the world. 
   • 2. Kings 7:7- Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. 8 – And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it. 9 – Then they said one to another, we do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come that we may go and tell the king’s household.
   • In type, Samaria is a picture of the world with its hunger, starvation, pain, and agony. The lepers, as pitiful as they were, are type of preachers of the gospel of good news. The abundance that we have found is a product of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which alone can satisfy the hunger and the craving of a starving world. As the lepers, “we must not hold our peace” we have good news to bring, in fact, the greatest news than man has ever known. “Jesus saves, Jesus heals, Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit, Jesus delivers, and Jesus is coming again.”
5. Harvesting soul is the primary work of the church. 
   • And the Gospel must first be published among all nations Mark 13:10.
   • Soul winning is our chief task as a church.
   • The primary role of the church is not to build schools. That is the job of the Ministry of Education. 
   • The principal job of the church is not to open hospitals. That is the job of the ministry of Health. The central task of the church is not to build orphanages. These are all good things and I personally believe in all of them. But none of these is the primary reason for which God raised up the church. Many are churches that have degenerated into social clubs and political grouping.
   • I went to Baptist Secondary School, it was a best experience. Churches run the best schools and hospitals in the world. What I am saying is that it is not the primary thing the church supposed to do. That is not our chief task. Perhaps it is a secondary or tertiary function of the church.
   • Every institution must know what its principal role is!
   • When you make a secondary role the primary function, the institution becomes completely confused and irrelevant.
   • There are times when Pastors come under pressure from governments and the community to change their emphasis.
   • You will hear important government officials saying things like, “we advise the church to become more socially relevant instead of praying every day.”  You will hear dignitaries calling on church leaders, “we appeal to the church to extend electricity to this town so that the contribution of the church will be felt.” “If the church can dig some boreholes for this village, its relevance to the society will be appreciated. Dear friends, digging boreholes and providing water for a community is not what makes the church relevant!  
   • That is not our primary job. The head of the church, Jesus Christ, has given us clear instructions to GO INTO THE WORLD AND PREACH.
   • Preaching and teaching the Gospel is what makes the church relevant. Preaching and teaching is the primary task of churches and ministers.
   • When we preach and teach, people are saved and their lives are changed. This is our best contribution to our society.
   • The first work of whole church is to give the gospel to the whole world – Oswald J. Smith.
6. You must be a harvester of soul because harvesting soul makes converts who bring about changes in society. 
   •  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.
     
     13 – who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
     14 – and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
     15 – This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief (1. Timothy 1:12-15)
     
     The Apostle Paul is the best example of someone whose conversion brought about major changes in the world.
      
   • What is the greatest canker/ plague that has destroyed most African nations? Is it not la corruption?                                                        
   • Corruption has destroyed most African nations. Congo is endowed with riches, yet majority of our people are impoverished. Corruption has left its mark on the masses.
   • A modern form of corruption involving the inflation of contract figures has surfaced in Congo. Projects which should have cost sixteen million dollars end up costing the nation twenty four million dollars. Where does the eight million dollars go? Straight into private pockets! Inflated contracts are signed every day and the nation loses millions of dollars into the pockets of vampires.
   • Brothers and sisters, when people are born again and taught the word of God, they refuse to be involved in corruption and other evil deeds. This is one of the areas by which the church becomes relevant. The preaching of righteousness by the church greatly reduces corruption in the nation.
   • There is no need for the church to leave its main duties, let us never forget that we are standing in the midst of harvest fields – whitened and ripened, ready to be harvested.

Conclusion:

Two-thirds of God’s name is Go! – Rodney Howard-Brown. Let go and win souls. “Let’s plunder hell and populate heaven” says Rodney Howard-Brown.

Prayer time.

1. For obedience to go and win souls.
2. Jesus Christ has the ability to change men fundamentally and characteristically, or rather to recreate men. When Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus, He said to him, you are Simon the son of Jonah, you shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone (John 1:42).