The “harvest mind” is one of the ways of looking at the world that I pray will become natural to you as a born-again believer.  What do I mean by the harvest mind?  As far as I know, this phrase was invented by a friend of mine named Ron Lewis. Ron was the church growth consultant at our church before he died of cancer several years ago serving here as our consultant for about 25 years.  He took the phrase from the Lord’s command to look at the fields that are white already unto harvest and to pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would send workers into the harvest.  The Scriptures from which this idea comes are Matthew 9:37-38, Mark 4:26-29, and John 4:34-38.  In each of these cases, the Lord makes the point that the seed of the Gospel has been sown in the world, that the Spirit of God has entered the world, that the Spirit of God is working in the church and in the preaching and witness of the church, and that there is opportunity in the world to reach people for Jesus Christ.

             A man I admired a great deal as a pastor once said he believed every person he met needed the Lord Jesus Christ – most of them just didn’t know it yet.  That’s a clear expression of the belief that people need the Lord and the Lord has made it possible for them to receive Him.  He has, in fact, worked in many people’s lives so they are ready.  However, He will not do the harvesting.  We must work at the harvest and pray for others to do the same.

             The harvest mind is the opposite of the attitude many modern Christians have.  Perhaps Christians have always felt that way, but I’m only familiar with the Christians of our day.  Too many of us believe that all people are basically resistant to the Gospel, religion is a private matter, and we should not intrude in other people’s lives or seek to impose our values on them.  If we ever decided we wanted to share, it’s something we should only attempt after lots and lots of relationship building and after earning the right to be heard.  Jesus simply said, “The harvest is ready, and it is time for workers to be sent.”  You and I are those workers.  My experience is that unless we develop a mind that sees the world that way and honestly believe the Lord Jesus has done His work so the harvest is ready, we will probably hang back in timidity.  Do you have the harvest mind?  Ever?  Occasionally?  Never?  Begin praying to the Lord of the harvest and ask Him to give you a harvest mind. Tell Him you’d like to have a fresh vision of the world that sees the world as ready to respond to the Gospel.  Ask the Lord to lay some soul upon your heart that you may begin to reach out to them in the name of Jesus.

Thanks for your favorable responses to this past Sunday’s sermon.  The antichrist is an interesting subject, and I want to share a few more thoughts on what I think it means to acknowledge the presence of the antichrist in our world. There are three basic beliefs about God in the world:  antitheism, deism, and theism.

1.  ANTITHEISM – This belief holds there is no God and that the material universe just happens to exist.  There is no explanation for it.  There is no purpose for it.  It started nowhere.  It’s going nowhere.  It has no creator and does not need to be understood except as something that is material and exists.  This outlook finds the idea of the Christ and antichrist equally unnecessary.  Evil is a behavioral problem.  There are no spiritual problems.
2.  DEISM – There is a God (or gods).  He or they probably made the universe.  He has no personal involvement in its management or preservation, and he does not enjoy it because he is uninvolved with it.  The enemies of the Gospel whom John is confronting in his letters (called Gnostics) were a lot like these deists.  They believed God existed but was uninvolved, distant, and knowable only as we speculated, argued, and disagreed.  Even then we could not be certain.  This outlook also finds no place for antichrist.  Everything here plays out at a behavioral level.  Prayer and the Spirit of God are an illusion.
3.  THEISM – There is a God.  He created, manages, and loves the universe, the world, and all that is in it.  He is personal in nature.  He reveals Himself to people in many ways and is interested in us and how we’re doing.  He not only pays attention to us, but He helps us and intervenes.

             The doctrine of the antichrist reminds me that the material world is governed spiritually and is headed for a spiritual destination.  The problems that come my way are not just a result of the need to reengineer the material world.  There is also a need for me to deal with the spirit of the antichrist in this world of ours.  Other than this being interesting, why should this idea be important to you?

Over the past week, I’ve posted 5 practical helps to anchor your life in Christ.  As a reminder, only a personal, born-again relationship with Christ will ultimately anchor us, but there are some practical steps we can take to compliment our relationship with the Lord.

Here are the first four followed by the final and 5th help.

Anchor 1: A well broken-in Bible

Anchor 2: Calloused Knees

Anchor 3: Worn out Shoes

Anchor 4: Worn out church clothes

Anchor 5:

A CHRIST-CENTERED DATEBOOK OR CHECKBOOK (or on-line account) – I was told early on that what you love you will spend time and money for.  What do your datebook and checkbook say about your love for the Lord?  Pay attention to this when you balance your checkbook.  Could either or both of these books be used as evidence to convict you of being a Christian? 

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            The Lord be with you as you enhance your sense of connection to God.  It is His greatest gift to us, and He means for us to experience it and enjoy it.

Anchor 1: A well broken-in Bible

Anchor 2: Calloused Knees

Anchor 3: Well worn Shoes

Anchor 4: – WORN OUT CHURCH CLOTHES – Make sure you are at church.  Hebrews 10:25 says, “Forsake not the assembling of ourselves together.”  In other words, don’t miss church without a real reason.  Church is not an option for the serious believer but a reunion with the body of Christ.  What percentage of time are you at church on Sunday? When you’re not there, what are you doing?  What does that say about your sense of connection to our great Lord?

Anchor 5: A Christ-Centered Datebook/Checkbook