WEEK 1: Plan of the Father
DATE: May 3rd
MAIN IDEA: The harvest belongs to the Father. The same God that redeems and forms His people is the same God who prepares His people for His harvest.
KEY SCRIPTURES: Exodus 12, Exodus 19, Exodus 20, Leviticus 23, Deuteronomy 16
SERMON IDEAS:
1) Redemption, God Saves His People at Passover, Exodus 12
- Israel is delivered by the blood of the lamb
- Salvation is initiated entirely by God
- God seeds the Harvest through His redemptive work
2) Formation, God Shapes His People at Sinai, Exodus 19:5–6, 20
- They are to be "a kingdom of priests"
- They are given the Law to be a covenant people
- Fifty days after Passover, Israel arrives at Sinai, and God forms them into a covenant people.
- They are not just saved from Egypt, they are being formed for God.
3) Anticipation, God Prepares a Harvest for His People at Pentecost
- Leviticus 23:15–16, they count counting fifty days
- Leviticus 23:17, they give their first fruits offering
- Leviticus 23:22, the include the poor and foreigner
First fruits, believing the guarantee of more to come
Edges left in the field, believing the harvest includes outsiders, more than enough for everyone
- Pentecost is a Harvest Festival illustrating trust in God
- Pentecost is a harvest festival, but more than that it is a built-in, cultural reminder that God is gathering a people far beyond Israel, from the margins
ADDITIONAL CROSS REFERENCE:
- Jeremiah 31:33, law written on hearts
- Ezekiel 36:26–27, new heart and Spirit
- Deuteronomy 16:9–12, rejoice with all people
- James 1:18, believers as first fruits
- Romans 8:23, first fruits of the Spirit
APPLICATION:
- Release the pressure from your life, you are not responsible for producing the harvest. This is the plan of the Father. It is His harvest.
- Reframe your life, you are not just saved for yourself, but you are part of God’s gathering harvest work.
- Recover gratitude, always remember that you are a first fruit, not the final result. There is more that God wants to do.
- Respond with generosity, the harvest is never meant to be hoarded because God always leaves room for others.
