september 14, 2025
Welcome to Gateway! It’s such a blessing to worship with you today. If you’re new to Gateway, we want to extend a special welcome to you. Please visit GatewayOnline.org/nextsteps to get more connected.
The One Vision (John 4:35-38)
The mission statement of Harvest City Church is To Know Christ, Live out our Faith, and Change our World.
John 4:35-38
35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
Jesus quotes a "proverb" of His day - "It's still four months until the harvest." In other words, "Relax, there’s no rush. We still have plenty of time.”
Jesus tells them to open their eyes and look at the fields - they are ripe for harvest! Verse 30 says the woman Jesus met at the well returned to her village and brought several townspeople back with her. Jesus likely points toward the Samaritans coming out of Sychar and toward Him after the woman’s testimony. Their white garments would have looked like ripened grain moving through the fields.
Jesus' message is clear: the spiritual harvest is now!
In verses 36-37 Jesus talks about the sower and the reaper rejoicing together. It sounds similar to Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 3. One plants the seed, another waters, but only God makes things grow.
In verse 38 Jesus says they will reap what they haven't worked for. Others have done the hard work, and now they get to reap the benefits of their labor. That’s the way it usually works. The one who reaps often isn’t the one who sowed the seed.
Don't wait - the spiritual harvest is here!
We must dial up the urgency to reach our community for Christ while we have this amazing window of opportunity.
How will you play your part in the vision God has given us?
Click the link below to discover how you can use your gifts to serve our church and help us reach more people in our community.
A Prayer to Trust in Jesus:
“God, thank you for loving me even though I’ve rebelled against You. I confess that I’m sinful. I’m so grateful that Jesus died on the cross to pay for all my sins. Right now I turn away from my sins and I turn to You. I’m putting my full trust in Jesus to rescue me from my sins. Thank you for forgiving me and washing me clean on the inside. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
