HARVEST AFTER DEATH

John 12:23,24
What Jesus says here is opposite to what the people may have expected him to say. We are generally excited about the part of this verse that talks about producing more - being fruitful. But we must also understand what Jesus is saying about what it takes for the harvest to come about. We must remind ourselves that in order to bear fruit, we will have to go through trial and hardship.


1. LET'S MOVE ON
1 Samuel 16:1
At this point God had rejected Saul as king and Samuel was lamenting the situation. But God needed Samuel to move on.

There comes a time when you have to stop mourning about things that have happened in the past and move on. We must resolve issues with those with whom we need to do so if we have suffered hurts, but once that is done we must move on and not dwell on past sins and mistakes.

Romans 8 is still true. It is still true that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (verse 28). It is still true that "we are more than conquerors" (verse 37).

God is counting on us to continue advancing the kingdom, pasturing the flock and helping people to be all that they can be.

David exemplifies the mindset of moving on after sin and personal tragedy - 2 Samuel 12:15-23. David realized that the mourning was over and it was time to move on. God had made his decision and David was going to get on with life.

Jeremiah 48:11-13
At this point Moab had not gone through the hardships of exile that others had had to endure.

Wine left on its dregs (the residue at the bottom of the barrel)becomes tasteless. Wine must be poured from one jar to another in order for the impurities to be removed and for the taste to mature. We, too, need some unsettling from time to time to shake us out of comfort and laxity, and to remind us to depend on God.

Our natural tendency is to do all that we can to avoid things that will unsettle us. But rather than fear those things, we need to make our lives an endless cycle of depending on God.


2. GOD IS A WITNESS
Here are people whose names we do not know and yet they were great people:
2 Kings 5:1-3 Servant girl's initiative eventually helped Naaman get healed.
2 Samuel 23:13-17 The courageous who brought David water at the risk of their lives.
2 Kings 4:8-17 The woman of great faith.
The poor widow who put in two little copper coins (Mark 12:43,44), the woman who wiped Jesus' head with perfume (Mark 14:3-9), the two brothers sent with Titus to take a contribution (2 Corinthians 8:23), whoever gave the bread and fish that were used to feed toe five thousand.

Let us seek to do great things for God without wanting be mentioned and held in high esteem.

God honours our service, even when we do it in anonymity. We must serve god for his glory and not with the goal of being recognized.

Q. Are you ready to be sent by the angels to be a royal priesthood - to do the work for which you have been called?
Q. Are you ready to move on?

Let us move on with our hearts set on pleasing God and may we be workers through whom God brings in his harvest.