Missions
T. Dale, M. A. John 4:35-38 Say not you, There are yet four months, and then comes harvest? behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields… I. THE DUTY OF ALL WHO POSSESS THE PRECIOUS SEED TO SOW IT. 1. Our obligation to sow must be in proportion to our estimate of the value of the seed. 2. This obligation affects the Church collectively and individually. (1) It is the execution of a trust with which all Christians are put in charge. (2) It is the acceptance of a benefit to which all are permitted to aspire. 3. It is the accredited indispensable token of union with Christ and of membership in His Church. II. THE CERTAINY THAT THEY WHO SOW SHALL REAP. 1. "The liberal soul shall be enriched." "He that watereth others shall himself be watered." The exercise of grace under one aspect leads to the communication of grace under another. 2. The preciousness of the future reward may be gathered from the excellence of the present. 3. Both are sure. They may be long delayed, but the seed shall spring fresh and vigorous even as Jesus rose triumphant from the grave. III. OVER WHAT FIELD THE SEED IS TO BE SCATTERED. "The field is the world." 1. In its widest extent. 2. In its varieties of guilt. 3. In its diversities of promise and prospect. IV. WHAT HARVEST WE MAY HOPE TO SOW FOR OTHERS, AND WHAT WE MAY CALCULATE ON REAPING FOR OURSELVES. 1. Remember the promise. 2. Remember its fulfilment. (1) In England under previous missions. (2) Abroad under existing missions. V. THE MANNER IN WHICH WE CAN PROFITABLY PERFORM THE DUTY AND EFFECTUALLY ENSURE THE BENEFIT. Let each do what he can, where he can. 1. Prayerfully. 2. Earnestly. 3. Patiently. 4. Believingly. (T. Dale, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. WEB: Don't you say, 'There are yet four months until the harvest?' Behold, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and look at the fields, that they are white for harvest already.