The harvest season is a wonderful time of year. It is a time when we rejoice in God’s blessings. It should be a time of plenty, of joy, and of praise to our God. This was a special time for the children of Israel. It was during this time that the “feast of tabernacles” or the “feast of ingathering” took place. The feast of ingathering is named so because it took place after the gathering in or completion of the harvest. It was also called the feast of tabernacles, in commemoration of having dwelt forty years in tabernacles or tents in the wilderness. The feast was kept from the fourteenth to the twenty-first day of the month Tishri, which is equivalent to our latter part of September and early part of October. It was the seventh month of their ecclesiastical calendar, and the first of their civil year. (Lev. 23:34-36; Deut. 16:13-15). Much is said about the harvest in the Bible. Our Savior, and Master teacher expounded on the importance of the harvest many times throughout the Gospels. In John 4:35-36, Jesus says, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.” I believe if we would take a good look at this passage and really consider what our Lord is teaching, it would change our lives! Today, let’s consider this harvest that Jesus desires us to reap. Jesus said, “Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest?” According to chronology of this passage, most believe it was about January 13 when Jesus spoke these words. In Adam Clarke’s Commentary on John, Clark stated: “the harvest did not begin till after the Passover, which was fixed on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, which correlates to our March, and sometimes extends into April. The barley harvest was the first; after that the wheat; and both were finished by Pentecost. For, in the feast of Pentecost, the first fruits of all the harvest were carried to the temple, and waved before the Lord.” Accordingly, the time of Jesus’ statement was in the heart of winter. Our Lord did not refer to the reaping of grain or the fruit of the land, but of lost souls in desperate need of the Savior. Jesus continued to reinforce this statement and calls His disciples to action. First, He tells us to behold the harvest fields. The word behold, according to Strong’s Concordance, is in the imperative – a command. He then states, “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields.” So what is the Lord commanding us to do? He is commanding us to “lift up our eyes,” (get our eyes off ourselves) and look closely at a world that is lost, and in desperate need of God’s saving grace. Just what would we see if we were to examine the harvest fields closely? Rebellion, drugs, adultery, violence, murders are all a part of a world that has forgotten God. To see the depravity of man, all you need to do is to read the local paper, or watch the local news. Every day the local news reports murder, sexual crimes, armed robberies, extortion, and the list goes on. Many think that the answer lies on electing the right candidate, but the moral, social and economic problems that we face are all tied to the fact that we have turned our back on God, and refused His Word as our final authority for our lives and our nation. God’s Word clearly states: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance (Ps. 33:12).” Will God bless a nation that uses its tax dollars to fund the murdering of our unborn through the means of abortion? Will He bless a nation that condones, promotes, glamorizes, and legalizes such wicked practices as homosexuality, sodomy, adultery and fornication? Will His blessings fall to a nation that has kicked His Word and prayer out of the school house? What about a nation that denies the existence of the Divine Creator and promotes the mindless theory of evolution? Will God bless a nation that has forsaken the House of God for the football field, soccer field, or the baseball diamond? Our country is in a mess, but what is the Christian to do? Jesus said we are to lift up our eyes and look on the fields (John 4:35). He tells us the harvest is now! It – the lost souls – are “white already unto harvest.” Jesus tells us that laboring in His fields “gathereth fruit unto life eternal.” What greater labor is there? There will be eternal rejoicing because of reaching souls for Christ (Jn 4:36). How then can we be effective in God’s harvest fields? Here are some thoughts: First, make sure you are His child. You will never be able to be the salt and light that you need to be until you are born again by His Spirit. Second, be a Bible-filled Christian. The ApostlePaul said, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16).” The lost world needs Bible-filled Christians to point them to the Word of God and the God of the Word! Next, be sure you are walking in the Spirit, (Gal. 5:16, 25). To walk in the Spirit is to be directed by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. It is to be sensitive to His leading, and to be in constant fellowship with Him through His Word. We will never be effective in God’s harvest fields serving God when we allow the world to creep in. We must serve and worship Him in Spirit and in truth (Jn 4:24). Finally, take steps to follow the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). We are commanded to witness, win, and disciple those who come to Christ. It is not enough to know the gospel, we must communicate it, and do so under the influence and power of God’s Holy Spirit. Today, there are almost seven billion people on the earth. Wickedness is prevalent. The lost world will accommodate Satan’s devices! The Christian’s answer is Jesus Christ. The next time we watch the evening news and want to complain about how bad it is, maybe we need to listen to Jesus’ command and enter into His harvest fields. God help us to be an effective harvester of souls for the Lord.?