Evangelism: Farming the Gospel

Jesus spoke to his followers in parables. In Mark 4:34 it says, “He did not say anything to them without using a parable.” His parables were related to everyday activities that his followers would be familiar with. He used many examples from agriculture.

He spoke of the shortage of workers for the harvest field. (Matthew 9:37,38) He spoke of sowing the word of God into the soil of mens hearts. (Mark 4:1-20) He spoke of the vine and the branches (John 15:1-8) and the mustard seed (Mark 4:30-34) and many more.

The parables were intended to make spiritual truth understandable. Here are some spiritual truths I discovered while reviewing the parables regarding evangelism, sharing the gospel, witnessing.

Contact

I have to select some place to farm the gospel. I have to make contact with the person. Or a group of people. Its similar to selecting a field to plant crops in.

Cultivate

In the spring of the year, farmers prepare the ground for planting. The plow breaks up the turf and dislodges the plant residue from last year's crops. The cultivator breaks the big soil clods into smaller soil clods. The harrow smooths and evens the seed bed so the seeds can be distributed evenly across the ground and at the same depth in the soil.

People need to be cultivated as well. Hard hearts need to be plowed, cultivated and harrowed. The Holy Spirit can use me to cause changes. I can initiate conversations with people demonstrating that they are valuable. I can listen to their stories and empathize with them. I can ask them to help me with a project. I can ask them to teach me something they are good at.

I can share stories from my life. I can ask questions that cause them to consider eternal things. To consider good and bad, right and wrong.

As I develop a relationship with them, they learn to trust me. When they trust me, they trust what I have to say.

And the soil of their heart has been prepared.

Sow

“The farmer sows the word.” (Mark 4:14) That's pretty clear. As the farmer, it is my job to sow the word. People are the land or the soil upon which I am sowing. After I have cultivated relationships with people, I need to share the word of God with them.

I might share the gospel through my testimony. I might share it using a small tract or pamphlet. I might draw a visual illustration of the gospel. If the group is large, I might share the gospel by reading and explaining verses that highlight what Jesus Christ did for us.

I would also explain the reponse expected by God to what Jesus Christ has done for us.

The Word of God has been sowed. The seed is planted. The crop can grow.

Water

Crops need water. Some places rely on natural rainfall. When there is inadequate rainfall, the crops fail. Some places irrigation is used. Water is physically moved from one location to the location where the seed is planted.

The same is true when farming the gospel. The people have been prepared. The Word of God has been planted. The seed needs to be watered. And God says, “As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty , but will accomplish what I desire, and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10,11)

God waters spiritual seeds with the words from His mouth. The seed planted in a person's heart is the Word of God and the water that causes the seed to grow is the Word of God. In spiritual farming, the Word of God is crucial from the time the person has been prepared to hear the gospel until the time the person has matured to the point of being harvested into the kingdom of God.

Reap

The person's heart has been prepared. The Word of God has been planted. The Word of God has been watered by the Word of God. And now the crop has ripened and is ready for harvest before it spoils. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'” (Matthew 9:36-38)

The harvest is still plentiful. People are ready to enter into the kingdom of God. But the workers are few. There are not enough people asking. Will you ask? Will you become a worker?

Workers in the harvest contact, cultivate, sow, water and reap. During the harvest, the reaping, workers ask people if they would like to take advantage of the free gift of God. Would they like to accept the payment Jesus Christ made for their sins? If they say “yes,” the worker explains how to pray. The worker may model the prayer of a sinner for them. The worker prays with them. The worker walks with them into the kingdom of God.

Afterwards, the worker is available to answer questions the person has.

Time

The entire process can be done one person at a time. It can be done with a small group. It can be done with a large group. Or it can be done Billy-Graham-crusade-style in a mega-group.

The entire process could be done in an hour. It could take several hours. It could take several weeks. It could take several years. Or it could take decades!

And all the time the Holy Spirit is like the sunshine. He takes the nutrients from the heart and the Word of God that has been watering the seed of the gospel. He performs spiritual transformation. The person supernaturally transforms from being lost and separated from God to a full-fledged citizen of the kingdom of heaven!

And the crop from a life grows and matures and is harvested. And those seeds are scattered all over. And the circle of spiritual life continues.

The land of my life is going to produce something. It should be something that is useful to God. I want the best for myself. I want the best for my friends. Their lives should produce something useful to God also.

How about your life?
What are you producing?
Are you producing thirty, sixty, or a hundred times what was sown in you?
Or does it stop with you?

Jesus' Example

Jesus modeled farming the gospel. In John 4 with the Samaritan woman.

In verses 7-12, Jesus prepared the woman to hear the good news. He asked for help (a drink of water). He created interest in the “living water.” The woman asked where she could get the living water. She asked Jesus who he was.

In verses 13-14, Jesus sowed the gospel. “Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The seed was planted. The woman asked for the living water. But Jesus knew she was not yet ready.

In verses 15-26, Jesus watered the seed He had planted.

And then the encounter was interrupted by the return of the disciples. But we know that the woman was reaped into the kingdom of God. We know because in verse 39 it says, “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony.” The woman entered the kingdom of God and immediately she was out trying to reap others from the harvest into the kingdom of God. The woman reaped many into the kingdom. Jesus stayed two days with them until they were convinced on their own. And many more were reaped into the kingdom of God. They became believers.

We may all farm the gospel at different levels, but we should all be farming. Some of us may use the big equipment and farm acres for God. Others of us may use a shovel and hoe and garden small plots for God. And some of us, may use a trowel and work with pots and planters. But we should all be farming the gospel where God has asked us to.

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