John 4.31 – Look on the Fields
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31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something."
32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."
33 Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?"
34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
35 Do you not say, `Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the
fields! They are ripe for har-vest.
36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the
sower and the reaper may be glad together.
Food that you know nothing about –
The disciples were like most of us. They were concerned primarily with what they could see, hear, touch
and smell. They were totally dependent on their physical senses. They were blind to the spiri-tual
realities around them
They could see the sky, but they could not see heaven.
They could see the priests, but they could not see God.
They could see the obstacles, but they could not see the possibili-ties.
They could see the facts, but they could not see faith.
They could hear the sermon, but they could not hear the voice of the Spirit of God whispering deep
inside.
They could hear the noise of the world around them, but they could not hear the quiet of the ‘still voice
of God’.
They could feel the pain of life, but they could not feel the love of God.
They could taste the bread from the oven, but they could not taste the bread from heaven.
They could smell the stench of the rotting world around them, but they could not smell the sweet
fragrance of the presence of God.
They could even smell the incense burning in the temple of God, but they could not smell the aroma of
the prayers of the saints which rise up before God and bring him pleasure.
Jesus was saying that there is a reality of life that we too often fail to see. There is a communion with
the Father that can satisfy our every desire. There is a spiritual food that is more satisfying than
physical food.
There is a hunger that goes deeper than the hunger for food. It is a hunger for God. It is a hunger for
spiritual nourishment. You have felt your stomach do that thing it does when it needs food – churn and
make noises. But have you been aware when your spirit yearns for fellowship with God?
David knew this hunger:
Ps 42:1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. (NIV)
Ps 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (NIV)
Ps 62:1 My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. (NIV)
Ps 63:1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in
a dry and weary land where there is no water. (NIV)
Ps 84:2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the
living God. (NIV)
Here is a man who is desperate for the presence of God in his life. Here is a man who is hungry for
spiritual satisfaction. He will not be satisfied with what the world has to offer. He will settle for nothing
less than God.
What about you? What will you settle for? What are you seeking? What is it that you need more than
anything else? Is it God? Your soul would say, Yes!
Let me ask you this, how badly do you want Him?
Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (AV)
You can have as much of God as you are willing to pursue. Or you can have as little as you are willing
to settle for.
Ps 63:8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand up-holdeth me. (AV)
My food is to do God’s will –
Jesus said that the thing that brought him the most satisfaction was to do the will of God.
Think about this – birds were made to fly. A bird that cannot fly is an unhappy bird. It is unhappy
because it cannot do what it was made to do. Fish were made to swim. A fish that cannot swim is an
unhappy fish.
Now do you think a fish could ever find happiness trying to fly? Yet, men try to find happiness pursuing
everything but God.
The fact is, we were made for fellowship with God. Yet, we try to find satisfaction and fulfillment in other
things.
Jesus said, “Doing God’s will is what feeds me. This is what makes me strong. This is what keeps me
going.” What keeps you going?
Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for har-vest.
What fields is Jesus talking about? What harvest is He concerned for?
He is concerned for a spiritual harvest – a harvest of souls.
Mt 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. (NIV)
Mt 9:38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out work-ers into his harvest field." (NIV)
I want you to picture field after field of crops – and no one to har-vest them. Imagine tree limbs heavy
with oranges and lemons – vines covered with grapes. And they are rotting and dying because there is
no one to pick them.
I want to tell you that our city is a field that is ripe. There are
thousands of souls needing Jesus, waiting for someone to tell them. There is a massive harvest of souls
out there – but the laborers are few. Who will tell them? Who will reach them before it is too late?
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers…
How many of you will pray with me that God will send laborers into the fields of Tirana and all of
Albania? There are villages that have no churches. There are churches that have no pastors.
And there are people sitting right here this morning who could do something to change that. What can
you do?
You can pray!
You can prepare! Each of us should be prepared to share the gos-pel of Jesus Christ with someone
who needs to hear it. Each of us should be prepared to labor is the fields of God. Each of us should
train ourselves in godliness. Paul told Timothy:
2Ti 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to
be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (NIV)
You can go! What if you prayed for God to send forth laborers and He called you? Would you go?
The fields are white with the harvest. The fruit is rotting on the vine because there is no one to pick it.
What will you do?
32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."
33 Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?"
34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
35 Do you not say, `Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the
fields! They are ripe for har-vest.
36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the
sower and the reaper may be glad together.
Food that you know nothing about –
The disciples were like most of us. They were concerned primarily with what they could see, hear, touch
and smell. They were totally dependent on their physical senses. They were blind to the spiri-tual
realities around them
They could see the sky, but they could not see heaven.
They could see the priests, but they could not see God.
They could see the obstacles, but they could not see the possibili-ties.
They could see the facts, but they could not see faith.
They could hear the sermon, but they could not hear the voice of the Spirit of God whispering deep
inside.
They could hear the noise of the world around them, but they could not hear the quiet of the ‘still voice
of God’.
They could feel the pain of life, but they could not feel the love of God.
They could taste the bread from the oven, but they could not taste the bread from heaven.
They could smell the stench of the rotting world around them, but they could not smell the sweet
fragrance of the presence of God.
They could even smell the incense burning in the temple of God, but they could not smell the aroma of
the prayers of the saints which rise up before God and bring him pleasure.
Jesus was saying that there is a reality of life that we too often fail to see. There is a communion with
the Father that can satisfy our every desire. There is a spiritual food that is more satisfying than
physical food.
There is a hunger that goes deeper than the hunger for food. It is a hunger for God. It is a hunger for
spiritual nourishment. You have felt your stomach do that thing it does when it needs food – churn and
make noises. But have you been aware when your spirit yearns for fellowship with God?
David knew this hunger:
Ps 42:1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. (NIV)
Ps 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (NIV)
Ps 62:1 My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. (NIV)
Ps 63:1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in
a dry and weary land where there is no water. (NIV)
Ps 84:2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the
living God. (NIV)
Here is a man who is desperate for the presence of God in his life. Here is a man who is hungry for
spiritual satisfaction. He will not be satisfied with what the world has to offer. He will settle for nothing
less than God.
What about you? What will you settle for? What are you seeking? What is it that you need more than
anything else? Is it God? Your soul would say, Yes!
Let me ask you this, how badly do you want Him?
Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (AV)
You can have as much of God as you are willing to pursue. Or you can have as little as you are willing
to settle for.
Ps 63:8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand up-holdeth me. (AV)
My food is to do God’s will –
Jesus said that the thing that brought him the most satisfaction was to do the will of God.
Think about this – birds were made to fly. A bird that cannot fly is an unhappy bird. It is unhappy
because it cannot do what it was made to do. Fish were made to swim. A fish that cannot swim is an
unhappy fish.
Now do you think a fish could ever find happiness trying to fly? Yet, men try to find happiness pursuing
everything but God.
The fact is, we were made for fellowship with God. Yet, we try to find satisfaction and fulfillment in other
things.
Jesus said, “Doing God’s will is what feeds me. This is what makes me strong. This is what keeps me
going.” What keeps you going?
Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for har-vest.
What fields is Jesus talking about? What harvest is He concerned for?
He is concerned for a spiritual harvest – a harvest of souls.
Mt 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. (NIV)
Mt 9:38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out work-ers into his harvest field." (NIV)
I want you to picture field after field of crops – and no one to har-vest them. Imagine tree limbs heavy
with oranges and lemons – vines covered with grapes. And they are rotting and dying because there is
no one to pick them.
I want to tell you that our city is a field that is ripe. There are
thousands of souls needing Jesus, waiting for someone to tell them. There is a massive harvest of souls
out there – but the laborers are few. Who will tell them? Who will reach them before it is too late?
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers…
How many of you will pray with me that God will send laborers into the fields of Tirana and all of
Albania? There are villages that have no churches. There are churches that have no pastors.
And there are people sitting right here this morning who could do something to change that. What can
you do?
You can pray!
You can prepare! Each of us should be prepared to share the gos-pel of Jesus Christ with someone
who needs to hear it. Each of us should be prepared to labor is the fields of God. Each of us should
train ourselves in godliness. Paul told Timothy:
2Ti 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to
be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (NIV)
You can go! What if you prayed for God to send forth laborers and He called you? Would you go?
The fields are white with the harvest. The fruit is rotting on the vine because there is no one to pick it.
What will you do?