Harvest

A popular theme in the modern church is "harvest". This is good, but if we just complete the harvest we have failed, as we will not have failed the second part of the commission. Jesus' claim to all authority in heaven and earth will be just empty words. He is counting on his church to make his words a reality. If we don’t establish his kingdom on the earth, we will have failed him.

The first part of the great commission is important, but the harvest is not an end in itself. A farmer does not work hard just because he enjoys harvesting. He does the hard work of the harvest, to get the grain to make bread or feed his animals. If the grain had no value, the farmer would not bother harvesting the crop. Most farmers have had crops that were not worth harvesting. In the same way the church is not fulfilling its purpose, if it completes the harvest, but leaves Satan in control of the kingdoms of the world. The church must follow up the harvest and bring all things under the authority of Jesus, by teaching the nations to obey him.