1. “He who reaps...gathers fruit unto eternal life, in order that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together...One sows and another reaps” (John 4:36-37).
The third expression for preaching the gospel is sowing. The word of the Lord’s gospel is the seed of life, and a person’s heart is like a field of earth for planting. When we preach the gospel to people, we are sowing the seed of the Lord’s gospel into the field of their hearts. When the seed of the gospel grows in their hearts, it can be harvested. Sometimes others sow, and we reap; sometimes we sow, and others reap. For example, a brother who is baptized today may have received a gospel tract which gave him an impression of the gospel five years ago in another place. Thus, the seed of the gospel, which was sown into him through the tract, was reaped and brought in by us five years later. Therefore, we should preach the gospel whenever we meet people and sow the seed of the gospel into their hearts so that there will be a harvest in due time.
1. “The harvest is great, but the workers few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest that He would thrust out workers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38).
On the one hand, preaching the gospel is a sowing, but on the other hand, it is a reaping of the harvest. Sowing emphasizes preaching the gospel. Reaping emphasizes gathering in people’s souls. Gathering in people’s souls is like reaping grain and bringing it into a storehouse. Those whom the Lord wants to save are the harvest He wants to reap. Our preaching of the gospel is for harvesting these people. Thus, reaping a harvest is another expression for preaching the gospel.
In these verses the Lord spoke of the harvest being great, but the workers who preach the gospel to reap the harvest being few. Therefore, we should beseech the Lord of the harvest that He would thrust out workers into His harvest. If the harvest was great when the Lord spoke this word, the harvest must be even greater now. Therefore, we must beseech the Lord even more to thrust out workers into His harvest. If we want to reap the Lord’s harvest, we must preach the Lord’s gospel. Reaping a harvest requires the preaching of the gospel.
2. “Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are already white for harvest...One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored” (John 4:35, 37-38).
According to the Lord, the fields are white for harvest. Brothers and sisters, if the fields were white when the Lord spoke these words, they are even whiter today. Speaking only of the Chinese people, there are many whose hearts are ripe for harvesting. But who is willing to go?
When we preach the gospel, we will harvest what has already been sown. According to the Lord’s word, we should expect to reap where we have not labored. The seeds of the gospel have been sown on the earth by the church for two thousand years. Even in China many seeds have been sown over the last few centuries. Therefore, the harvest truly is ripe and waiting for us to reap. By the Lord’s mercy, may we lift up our eyes and look on the fields, and by the Lord’s grace, may we receive His sending to go and reap this ripened harvest.
1. “I am debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to foolish; so, for my part, I am ready to announce the gospel to you also” (Rom. 1:14-15).
Paul said that he was a debtor to every type of person. Therefore, he endeavored to preach the gospel to everyone. This word shows that preaching the gospel is the repayment of a debt, which is the fifth expression for preaching the gospel. According to this expression, preaching the gospel to our relatives, friends, and those to whom we are close is the repayment of a debt. Therefore, we should preach the gospel in order to repay our debt to the gospel.
When we preach the gospel, we must have the spirit of the gospel. When our spirit is full of burden, it becomes a power within us and causes us to be so driven that we cannot help but preach the gospel. This is the spirit of the gospel. This spirit causes us to be eager to preach the gospel, to be consumed with preaching the gospel to the point that we care for nothing else and fear nothing else. Our only care is for preaching the gospel, and our only fear is that people would perish. When we have such a spirit of the gospel, we spontaneously have a proper attitude toward the gospel outwardly. We should pursue and ask the Lord for such a spirit.