A Spiritual Harvest

John 12:23-26
If you take a grain of wheat or a grain of corn and lay it on a table, nothing will happen.   But if you take that grain of corn and bury it, it‘s going to break down, to decompose.   Not only is it going to decompose - if the conditions are right it will germinate and grow.
 
Jesus is comparing himself to a grain of wheat or a grain of corn that has been sown into the ground.  He says unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground it abides alone.  But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.
 
 Just think for a moment - Jesus is talking about his death.  That’s what He’s talking about; He’s talking about dying.  He was preparing to go to the cross.  He knew what He came here to do.  He was born to die.
 
Jesus was talking about himself as a grain of wheat, how He would go into the ground and be buried and rise on the third day.   Just think, through one Man, through His resurrection, look how many millions and millions of people have come to Him.  One man/one grain of wheat falling into the ground, and as it says, bringing forth much fruit.  
 
Even as we are talking this morning there’s somebody right now that’s surrendering their heart to the Lord.  Someone somewhere is giving Him their heart this morning, being born not by physical birth but being spiritually born.   Jesus was talking about a spiritual harvest, a sacred harvest.
 
In another passage Jesus tells us in Matthew 9:37 “The harvest is truly plentiful but the laborers are few”.  We’re talking about a spiritual harvest.   Pray that the Lord will send laborers into the harvest.
 
Every day we need to be praying that God will ignite our hearts to share the word of God with somebody that doesn’t know him.  Some people say “Well I’m sending up my timber” – maybe you all have heard that expression “sending up timber”.  I want to be able to get to heaven and see some of the “fruit” that I have sent up. I want to be able to see somebody that maybe I have encouraged in the faith.  I want to be able to see somebody that I shared this gospel with; somebody that received Christ.  We all should be striving and trying to send up or create a spiritual harvest, by sharing the word of God with someone.
 
Jesus is comparing himself to a grain of wheat and we all are familiar with planting things. Some of us may be familiar with gardens and farming; I am familiar with that and I have seen things germinate and how they would bring forth fruit.
 
You can take one grain of corn and plant it, water it and fertilize it and when that blade comes up most times it puts out two ears.  Just think of how many kernels are on that one or two ears.   Then you take those same two and you take them and seed them and next year when you plant them you’ve planted a whole field.  That’s what happened when Christ died on the cross; He was buried, was resurrected on that third day and inspired those disciples to write the gospels.  They shared with us, and even as we share today, people are steadily coming to Christ - it’s multiplying.
 
It starts with a seed that must die to itself.  May we all be willing to die to ourselves in order to reach the lost.  Let us continue to pray that God will send laborers into the vineyard.