Working The Harvest

The book Working the Harvest is another treasure that has become very precious to me.  I believe the timing of this release is impeccable, since there is no better time to ignite the hearts of believers in these last days to return to this foundational truth.

Working the Harvest reveals a neglected but critically necessary function of believers.  Somewhere along the line we have forgotten that the very heart of God is that none should perish...  that Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost and mantled us, his disciples, with the responsibility to go out into the highways and byways and compel the lost to come to Him.  This truth, accompanied by active obedience, must be restored in these closing days lest we appear before the throne of God to hear words other than "Well done thou good and faithful servant".  Many will try to shy away from this book because it speaks of responsibility, work, fruit-bearing...  Words that may cause our inner being to recoil... But I urge you to seek out the message of this book. This book reveals that God specifically chose us to fulfill kingdom responsibilities... It states "We are given the responsibility to go and bear fruit! This is our first responsibility as Christians: we are to go and bring forth fruit.  This is not a matter of choice, dependent on our likes and our dislikes, but our purpose, our calling and our ordination." Quoted from page 16.

Working the Harvest is a powerful analogy between the process of harvesting crops and that of harvesting souls. When we delve into this analogy we cannot deny that the truths are parallel and therefore explains that the result of neglected crops and neglected souls are the same... They rot on the vine!

But why should we be motivated to work the harvest . . .?  What is our incentive?  This book answers our question with another question . . . "Have you ever prayed and asked God to do certain things, and then not received the answer? Do you know why?" This book answers the question about why many of our prayers are not answered . . . Why we are unable to access the promise of God that "whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. . ."  It answers the questions about why some live in spiritual and physical poverty, while others receive bountiful wages, some a hundred-fold, some sixty-fold and some thirty-fold . . . It also explains the reason for the differing amounts of increase.

This is where it gets exciting . . . You see, God does not ask us to labour, to work in the harvest field, to bring forth fruit, without a promise of rewards and wages. We may scoff at the idea of reaping souls...  However, and I quote "If we do not reap, we have no right to expect wages! If we don't work, we do not eat; but he who reaps, receives wages". This is such a simple truth, but I found the analogy to be practical and fair . . . God is not unreasonable by any means . . . None of us, having not showed up for work, would dare stand before our employers and weep and beg for wages . . . He would not be moved by our tears . . . God is no different!

The beauty of this book is that it does not only reveal our folly, but it literally tells us how to bear fruit and what we should do to ensure that they remain.  I consider chapter 10 as a working handbook for every believer. I am tempted to reveal the contents of chapter 10, but you will have to purchase the book to find out. :-)

One of my favourite quotations from this book is "A reaper is someone who is engaged in the process of making disciples. People have become disciples when they have made the transition from a state of dependency on others to a position where others have become dependent upon them". Disciples are those who are interested in the Great Commission . . . Are we disciples?

This last excerpt is taken from the final pages of this book "We have lived in ignorance of our responsibilities as children of God.  All the while, we may be wondering why the blessings we read about in the Bible have not been as much a part of our relationship with God as we would like.  We cannot remain ignorant of these things or have the luxury of ignoring the truth.  It is time to put our hand around the sickle of our destiny and move out into the harvest field. We do not want the fruit to rot on the vine."

This book is an echo of the voice of God as He gathers His people...  His Church for a demonstration of the greatest revelation of power the world has ever known.  God has found a man who He can speak through in these last days.  We need to hear his voice . . . Receive the message of this book.

 Review Written By: Rev. Jacqueline Martinez