The Harvest is Past Jeremiah 8:18-22

Jeremiah 8:18-22 “My sorrow is beyond healing, My heart is faint within me! 19 Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a distant land: …”

Jeremiah 8:18-22 “…"Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not within her?“ "Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign idols?"...”

Jeremiah 8:18-22 “… 20 "Harvest is past, summer is ended, And we are not saved." 21 For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken; I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me. ...”

Jeremiah 8:18-22 “… 22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?”

“Harvest is past, summer is ended, And we are not saved” Jeremiah 8:20 “Harvest is past, summer is ended, And we are not saved”

Can you imagine a world with no cars, airplanes, TV, or computers?

That was the world of Jeremiah’s day! But there are some similarities

Similarities to Jeremiah’s World People living as if God did not exist

Similarities to Jeremiah’s World People living as if God did not exist. People who claimed to know God had forgotten Him Jeremiah 2:32

Jeremiah 2:32 “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me Days without number.”

Similarities to Jeremiah’s World People who were God’s own people had rejected Him Jeremiah 2:13

Jeremiah 2:13 “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, …”

Similarities to Jeremiah’s World People who were God’s own people had rejected Him Religious leaders were serving selfishly Jeremiah 2:13

Jeremiah 2:13 “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.”

The Sowing/Reaping Metaphor There are significant similarities in literal & spiritual harvests. Sow seed and patiently wait – James 5:7

James 5:7 “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.”

The Sowing/Reaping Metaphor Significant similarities Sow seed and patiently wait James 5:7 Reap as one has sown 2 Corinthians 9:6

2 Corinthians 9:6 “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”

The Sowing/Reaping Metaphor Significant similarities Sow seed and patiently wait James 5:7 Reap as one has sown 2 Corinthians 9:6 Time for reaping will pass!

“Harvest is past, summer is ended, And we are not saved” Jeremiah 8:20 “Harvest is past, summer is ended, And we are not saved”

The Sowing/Reaping Metaphor Hosea had used the metaphor Hosea 8:7

Hosea 8:7 “For they sow the wind And they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; It yields no grain. Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.”

The Sowing/Reaping Metaphor Jesus used the idea of sowing and reaping to illustrate the reaction to God’s word Matthew 13:18-23

Matthew 13:18-23 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. …”

Matthew 13:18-23 “… 20 "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; …”

Matthew 13:18-23 “… 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. …”

Matthew 13:18-23 “… 22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. …”

Matthew 13:18-23 “… 23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

The Sowing/Reaping Metaphor Paul used the sowing and reaping metaphor Galatians 6:7-8

Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. …”

Galatians 6:7-8 “… 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

The Time for Harvest Will Pass True of literal harvest. Jesus’ statement to the apostles John 4:35,36

John 4:35,36 “Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. …”

John 4:35,36 “… 36 "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.”

The Time for Harvest Will Pass We need to be aroused to sow the seed of the kingdom! Do you know someone lost? Unfaithful? Now is the time to act!

The Harvest will pass The fragile nature of the flesh 1 Peter 1:22-25

1 Peter 1:22-25 “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, …”

1 Peter 1:22-25 “… 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. …”

1 Peter 1:22-25 “… 24 For, "All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off, …”

1 Peter 1:22-25 “… 25 But the word of the Lord endures forever." And this is the word which was preached to you.”

The Harvest will pass The future is unsure Proverbs 27:1

Proverbs 27:1 “Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

James 4:13,14 “Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." …”

James 4:13,14 “… 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

The Harvest will pass The future is unsure Young may reason “I have plenty of time” “Trust no future, however present”

The Harvest will pass Sin is hardening the heart! Hebrews 4:6

Hebrews 4:6 “Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,”

The Harvest will pass People do not sense the need Unrealistic comparisons 2 Corinthians 10:12

2 Corinthians 10:12 “For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.”

The same day! – Acts 2:41 “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.”

“Why do you delay?” Acts 22:16 “Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.”

“immediately” – Acts 16:33 “And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.”

Today! – 2 Corinthians 6:2 “for He says, "At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you." Behold, now is "the acceptable time," behold, now is "the day of salvation”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, "Today if you hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, "Today if you hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 9 Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, And saw My works for forty years. 10 "Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, 'They always go astray in their heart, And they did not know My ways'; …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 11 As I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.‘” 12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 15 while it is said, "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me." 16 For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 15 while it is said, "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me." 16 For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 17 And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 19 So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. 4:1 Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, "As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest," although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 4 For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works"; …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 5 and again in this passage, "They shall not enter My rest." 6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, …”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 7 He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts."”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 7 He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts."”

Today! – Hebrews 3:7-4:7 “… 7 He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts."”

Hebrews 3:7,8 “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, "Today if you hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,”