#25 - Secrets of the Harvest: What Jesus’ Parables Teach About Rescuing Souls
In this episode of the Gospel Talks Podcast, we dive into Mark 4, where Jesus uses farming parables to teach powerful truths about God’s rescue mission for souls. These lessons build on last week’s discussion from Matthew 13 and continue to answer a listener’s question about what it means to pray to the Lord of the Harvest.
Discover how God is actively working to bring people to Himself and how He calls believers to lift their eyes and join Him in the harvest fields. Through these parables, we explore:
- The Promise of Confidence: Understanding the mystery of the Kingdom of God (Mark 4:11).
- The Strategic Power of the Word: How Satan opposes the Word at every stage of a believer's journey (Mark 4:14–20).
- The Call for Intentionality: Living purposefully and letting our light shine for others (Mark 4:21–22).
- The Diligence of the Soul Farmer: Learning patience, persistence, and trust in God’s miraculous and methodical work (Mark 4:26–29).
This episode will inspire and equip you to embrace your role as a laborer in God’s harvest, focusing on His process and timing. Don’t miss these timeless lessons on planting, watering, and reaping fruit for the Kingdom!
🎙️ Listen now and be encouraged to take your next steps in sharing the Gospel with boldness and clarity.
Transcript
Welcome to Gospel Talks podcast, where we help Christians all over the world become more effective in relational evangelism and discipleship.
George Bonoka:I'm George Bonoka.
George Bonoka:I'm your co host today.
George Bonoka:With me today is Pastor Jeff Musgrave, the founder and author of the Exchange.
George Bonoka:And we're here to answer your questions about relationships, discipleship and evangelism and give you biblical practical answers.
George Bonoka:Welcome back to episode number 25.
George Bonoka:Thank you guys for your patience.
George Bonoka:Taking these couple weeks, kind of taking a hiatus, not because we've stopped, but just because we're making a transition to a new platform for the podcast.
George Bonoka:Just got to join a really cool community of podcasts called Christian Podcast Community.
George Bonoka:I hope it's okay to mention that, Jeff.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Absolutely excited about it.
George Bonoka:Very, very excited about it.
George Bonoka:And we're also kind of catching up on our video production side.
George Bonoka:So if you not had a chance to go over to our YouTube channel, lots of content there.
George Bonoka:Thank you guys for your support, your encouragement.
George Bonoka:And the listener questions are golden.
George Bonoka:And so if you ever have a question, if you're watching us on social media or YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and you want to drop a question in one of the comments, we do look at those closely and we will make an episode out of it.
George Bonoka:Well, we're back here on the question of our listener from Kentucky and basically asking you guys at the end of every episode, say, hey, you know, you're praying to the Lord of the harvest that he send forth laborers.
George Bonoka:What on earth does that mean?
George Bonoka:And we're going to be kind of picking up here in Mark 4, and you know, the exchange, and I know, Jeff, you're very big on this for as long as I've known you, and that's now 12 years.
George Bonoka:When I was 18 is when I first met Jeff and Anna and never been shy about God's promise in this regard, and maybe you can talk about it a little bit that the harvest is truly plentiful.
George Bonoka:Whatever the naysayers might state about the condition of evangelism and the opportunities and the context, especially especially here in the United States, being colder, whatever that is, as hard as it may get, the promise still stands true and God will raise up the laborers.
George Bonoka:I mean, that is the primary issue.
George Bonoka:It's not a harvest problem, It's a labor issue.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Yeah.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:In fact, I think when we say things like, you know, people are just hard these days, they're not interested.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:We actually are impugning the power of the gospel and impugning the work of the Lord.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:We believe that God is on the move that Right there he is actively working in the hearts of people, wooing them to Himself, and inviting laborers to join him.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And that's why we are so motivated to pray the Lord of Harvest, because the harvest is plenteous.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It's the laborers that are the problem.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And God's solution is to pray.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:That's why the exchange is so passionate about laborers, about training laborers and equipping laborers.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And that's really the whole thrust and motive behind Gospel Talks itself.
George Bonoka:Yeah.
George Bonoka:Well, what do you see here in Mark chapter four as it applies to that particular topic?
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Well, it's interesting.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:You know, the whole promise of Jesus in Matthew 9 is about a harvest.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And then he uses several farming parables in the Bible as he teaches through life.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Of course, we know that probably one of the reasons he was using harvest parables is because it was all around him.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I mean, he was teaching in a rural area.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And so the harvest and farmers were all part of daily life there.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Some of that we have to kind of think through a little differently because it's not so much a part of our daily life.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And so I think extracting principles out of these harvest parables are quite important.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But I also think they're kind of fun.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I enjoy it.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So I'm actually starting today if anyone is wanting to look along on their Bible.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:In Mark, chapter four.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Mark, chapter four, Jesus tells this parable that we looked at a couple of weeks ago in Matthew 13, where he says, you know, they got these different kinds of soils.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And the disciples are saying, jesus, why are you doing this?
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:We don't understand.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And so Jesus makes a promise in between both the parable and then the explanation of the parable.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And this is in verse 11 of Mark 4, where he says unto you, speaking of his disciples, it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I love that promise, George, because it helps me to recognize that this is not something difficult to understand, that God's not making it hard.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It does seem hard sometimes, but he's actually wanting us, his disciples, to see it and to understand it.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So that means when I look at these passages, I'm a little more motivated because of this confidence that he wants me to know, to find what he wants me to see there.
George Bonoka:It's a tremendous promise from Jesus that He's the one that opens our minds so that we can understand.
George Bonoka:That's pretty incredible.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So it's pretty exciting to me that when we read our Bible, we can expect the Holy Spirit to show us.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So it gives me kind of motivation to look into here and see, okay, what is it that God wants me to find in these parables that he's teaching us in verses 14 to 20?
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:We actually looked at this in Matthew.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Now we'll look at it again in Mark.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:He gives us keys, and these keys actually help me.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:They instruct me how to be strategic in regards to evangelism and discipleship.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:What specifically is important and what we should focus on.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I think the first key is right there in verse 14, where he literally says that the word or the seed is the word.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And he's just making it very clear that when he's talking about planting seed and watching it grow and producing fruit, that what makes it happen is the word of God.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:The word of God is the seed.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And then secondly, he tells us that these birds that come and pluck away, and then later the persecution that comes, and then later the weeds that come, all of those come as a result of the work of Satan in our lives.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So these are two keys for us to be able to look at and say, so we know that Satan is attacking the word and trying to keep us from using.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Utilizing the word in seeing fruit.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And so those things are all very, very helpful to me.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I do think it's important for us to rem.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Satan was defeated at the cross.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:The reality is, though, that he is still in a desperate battle to thwart the rescue mission that Jesus completed in terms of being able to provide for us.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But now we're in the process of seeing people come to Christ, watching Jesus rescue their lives.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Satan is still doing his best to stop us because we are now the entrusted laborers that God is using.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Several things we see Satan doing in this passage that really helps us.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:The first is we see him taking the word from their hearts.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I know you've seen this before, George, where you actually talk to someone, you feel like they're interested, and then it's like stuff gets between you and them and you don't get to see them for a while.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And it's like it falls through the cracks.
George Bonoka:Yeah, yeah, happens all the time.
George Bonoka:It's terrible.
George Bonoka:It's a terrible feeling.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It is.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I think that one of the things that it helps me to do is to say, okay, when that starts happening, rather than just getting my feelings hurt that that person doesn't want to see me anymore.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:They just must not like this.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:They don't want this kind of conversation.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But to recognize, no, that's the work of the enemy.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And remember, the Bible gives us this promise.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And so that's the time to really pour on the steam.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And by the way, when I say that, I don't necessarily mean.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I know you know this.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It's not necessarily that we're pouring on the steam to get more gospel to them, but that's where the relational side of things come in.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:We want to take care of our friend.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:We want to spend time with them, get close to them, because that's going to renew the opportunity to put the seed back into their life.
George Bonoka:Absolutely.
George Bonoka:It's.
George Bonoka:There's an article actually coming out Anna wrote called Relentless Pursuit.
George Bonoka:And those are words I've had in my mind for a long, long time.
George Bonoka:She wrote this beautiful two part.
George Bonoka:Two articles actually out of the same concept.
George Bonoka:But, yeah, we have to be willing to go after him.
George Bonoka:But you're right.
George Bonoka:I mean, Satan hates this.
George Bonoka:He's gonna try to.
George Bonoka:He's gonna try to destroy it somehow derail it.
George Bonoka:It's kind of terrible that way.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Absolutely.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And by the way, just a great place to put in there that we have these weekly blog posts that are published and we would love for you to see them.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:If you're on our mailing list, we'll get a prompt of them.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I just encourage you to notice those when they come in.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:If you're not on our mailing list and you would like to receive this, you can just go to our website, exchangemessage.org and go to the blog section and you can see there the most recent blogs.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And by the way, when you're there, connect with us there and send us an email so that we can have your email and get you on that mailing list.
George Bonoka:Yeah, absolutely.
George Bonoka:That's under Resources.
George Bonoka:If you scroll at the top menu, you go under Resources.
George Bonoka:Blog is the first option.
George Bonoka:You guys will love those.
George Bonoka:They'll be a great encouragement.
George Bonoka:We've got several exchange trainers writing there, so there's a variety of writers.
George Bonoka:But.
George Bonoka:But yeah, you're right, Pastor Jeff.
George Bonoka:This is a struggle.
George Bonoka:You know that Satan, Satan trying to take away the Word, the most effective tool, you know, that God's given us for evangelism.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It's interesting to me as well that in the next soil that the attack on new believers is from Satan himself.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And what he says is that he attacks the Word in their lives.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And so again, this helps me recognize what the new believer needs is the Word.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Sometimes we get it in our brains.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:We've given them the Word, they got saved, and that's the big crisis.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But now Satan pours on the steam.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:He's really trying to keep them growing.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And again, what he persecutes and what he is constantly trying to destroy in their lives is the ministry of the Word.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So I think meeting weekly with the people that we've led to the Lord and helping them grow, that's where living the exchange comes in.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:In terms of our circle of ministry is helping people not only to receive Christ using the Exchange Bible study, but then planning to weekly meet with them and try to help them grow in the Lord, see the reality of the life that God has given to them and let that life grow.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But grows through the ministry of the Word.
George Bonoka:Absolutely.
George Bonoka:And if it's.
George Bonoka:And if it's what's.
George Bonoka:If it's what he hates, if that's the thing he's trying to take away, it's a good indication to us as Christians that ought to be the thing we're pouring out.
George Bonoka:That's what I love about the Exchange bible study.
George Bonoka:It's 150 verses designed to answer the questions of somebody who doesn't know Christ.
George Bonoka:Take them all the way from the unknown to being in a full relationship with Jesus, and it's Bible heavy.
George Bonoka:It does that lifting for you.
George Bonoka:And there's something about you getting out of the way and just letting them go right to Scripture and see the Scripture for.
George Bonoka:For themselves.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Absolutely.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I think it's interesting as well.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And that next one where the weeds come in and choke again, it says that it's choking the Word.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I just think there are so many this is now mature Christians that are not fruitful.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I think that really is all of us from time to time.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And we need to look at our own lives and recognize that the things that are in our life that are crowding, they're not just crowding productivity, they're crowding the Word.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It's the Word, the ministry of the Word in our life.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So I think making sure we're making time for church, making sure we're making time and energy and seeing Jesus in the Word daily, spending that time not just reading your Bible, but spending time with him, seeing him as we spend that time in the Word.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:The Word is the ministry that's going to help us with all of that.
George Bonoka:Yeah, it's the growth factor in a Christian's life.
George Bonoka:It's what the Holy Spirit uses to change us to become more like Jesus.
George Bonoka:Definitely.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Absolutely.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So then it's interesting that he moves on to a different parable in this passage.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And in verses 21, 22, he says, you know, no one lights a light and Puts it under a bushel, he takes it out and he puts it on a lampstand because it's going to have better priority.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I think one of the things that this helps me see is that in terms of being a light to the dark world, not only do I have to be strategic, but I also have to be intentional.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I think those two words in my mind really help me to determine the kind of life I'm living.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So I need to be intentional in that I am constantly carrying the light to people and I need to be strategic in that I want to get the word to them.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:That's the strategy that we use over and over, is the exchange Bible study, because it's the word.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But those two going together so intentionally meeting people, letting them see Jesus in us, and then trying to shine that word into their lives by doing a Bible study.
George Bonoka:Absolutely.
George Bonoka:And.
George Bonoka:And I think sometimes the opposite of intentional is not just being haphazard, but actually for most of us, we're aware of the needs around us.
George Bonoka:It's not being timid.
George Bonoka:It's not being timid.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Yeah.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I heard John Piper once say that we in Christianity have a built in timidity and it is not attractive.
George Bonoka:Yeah.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It's just not a.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It's not a good thing for believers.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And yet we do have to struggle with that all the time.
George Bonoka:Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:The last piece that I wanted to look at in this passage, verses 26 to 29, I call this the Parable of the Soul farmer because it shows a picture of a man.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And of course you probably know the passage.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I'm going to look it up here on my Bible.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It says, and the kingdom of God is like a man that would scatter seed on the ground.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows and he knows not how.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And the earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And when the grain is ripe at once he puts in the sickle because the harvest has come.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And of course you can see how that parallels what we've been talking about, that the harvest is plenteous.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But this kind of shows us a bit of a process that goes on here.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And to me, this parable motivates me to be diligent and to not just hit and run, not just pounce on people and give them the truth.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And if they reject, they reject, but to be a soul farmer, to put in the seed, to be patiently waiting, watching, cultivating.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And so this is really, really helpful to me to Be able to see this process.
George Bonoka:Yeah, yeah.
George Bonoka:I gotta be honest, I've never thought about this parable as an instruction for evangelism.
George Bonoka:I probably glanced right over it, you know, when I go through it in my Bible reading.
George Bonoka:And, and I mean, we were talking about this before we even started recording, but this is packed.
George Bonoka:I can't wait to see the things you're going to pull out of this.
George Bonoka:But this is awesome.
George Bonoka:I mean, right there, first thing, right off the bat, he's a hard worker, and that's okay.
George Bonoka:We should relentlessly pursue.
George Bonoka:And that's hard work.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Yeah, it is hard work.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I think that we have to recognize that though God is the one that's doing the work, we have to work hard with him.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:That's what God called us to do.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:You know, we've talked in that Matthew 9 passage where Jesus first told about the harvest being plenteous.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:He had preached the gospel to all the cities and villages of Galilee.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And he worked hard in those three years of earthly ministry.
George Bonoka:Yeah.
George Bonoka:I mean, there were times he was so exhausted he could fall asleep in the middle of a storm on a boat.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Absolutely.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Absolutely.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I think it's interesting too, though, to see that he is not only working hard, but he's waiting purposefully.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And in the waiting process, it says that he sleeps and rises.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And literally what he's doing is he is watching for God's miraculous work.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I think sometimes we, you know, there's two extremes in evangelism.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:We just leave it all to God and people are gonna get saved or they're.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Or we try to make it happen.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And even though God calls us to work hard, we can't make it happen.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:God is the one who makes it happen.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:He's the one who's calling.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I love the picture here where it says that he knows not how.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:The implication is it's miraculous every single time to this farmer.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I mean, I don't even know how this happens.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I just put in the seed and out comes this harvest.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And it's all the work of God.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:God built it into the system.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And as we use the seed, the word of God, there is going to be a work that God does in people's lives through a harvest.
George Bonoka:Yeah, yeah.
George Bonoka:And I think there's something very innocent and humble about a person who looks at that seed and goes, well, I don't know how that happens.
George Bonoka:I think one of the things to our detriment is sometimes when we are so, so, so trained in some of these things, that knowledge puffs up and then we get a little arrogant about, like, well, I can make it happen.
George Bonoka:Because, like, you know, I took the exchange seminar, which.
George Bonoka:The exchange seminar is awesome, but let me tell you, you still need God, you know?
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Yeah.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:In fact, I tell people all the time, you know, I wish I had a silver bullet and said, you know, if you do it just the way I tell you.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But it's really not about us.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It's about the Lord and how God does it.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I love the way it says the earth produces by itself.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I just think we have to be willing to trust the Holy Spirit to use the word of God in the hearts of our friends and be patient.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It's a powerful waiting game.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:You know, we have to be patient with them.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:That doesn't mean, by the way, that we sit back and do nothing.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But it does mean that we don't try to push them.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:We don't try to make it happen.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But we are.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I mean, looking at the way this soul farmer works, it says when the grain is ripe at once, he puts in the sickle because the harvest has come.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And it's clear he is watching for that to happen.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I had a opportunity this week, George, to interact with one of your friends.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I always write an email to people who buy something from our store.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I wrote an email and got a email back from a guy that you had led to the Lord, and he was talking to me about that very thing, that he was just impressed not only by the impact that the exchange Bible study had on his heart, but your wisdom in letting him kind of figure it out and grow in his understanding.
George Bonoka:Yeah, I think I can probably guess who you're talking about.
George Bonoka:But, yeah, it's funny.
George Bonoka:He's in love with the exchange.
George Bonoka:I mean, he's buying it so much, I'm actually telling him, you might slow down.
George Bonoka:I'm a little worried about you.
George Bonoka:But he's in an exchange Bible study with a Catholic guy.
George Bonoka:And what's amazing is that waiting does sometimes feel like you're doing nothing.
George Bonoka:But waiting is a very active thing.
George Bonoka:It might be passive aggressive, but you're sitting there, you're waiting.
George Bonoka:That's a hard thing sometimes, you know, like, think of a soldier who has to keep watch and has to stay alert and active in his mind and not try not to, like, lose vigilance.
George Bonoka:Waiting is evangelistic vigilance.
George Bonoka:You know what I mean?
George Bonoka:And so you're waiting on God, though, which means you're in prayer as well.
George Bonoka:And it's amazing.
George Bonoka:Yeah.
George Bonoka:In his life.
George Bonoka:I saw that completely.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Yeah.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I Think that this is.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:You used a word passive aggressive.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I think we use that in kind of a bad way in some people's personalities.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But there.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:There is a time in which we are waiting, but we're not waiting, doing nothing.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:We're waiting, watching, anticipating.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And this is literally us trusting that the Holy Spirit is doing what he promised he'd do.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And then I love that he immediately put in the sickle.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:He was.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:At once he was ready.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:He was excited about it.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And it shows that he was not just planting seeds.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I hear people say this all the time.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:You know, I don't.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I don't see very many people saved, but I plant seeds all the time.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I think to myself, you wouldn't be a very good farmer if all you do is plant and never expect to harvest.
George Bonoka:Yeah, yeah.
George Bonoka:I think we actually talked about this as an article topic one time for the exchange website.
George Bonoka:We said was it.
George Bonoka:We were going to entitle the article.
George Bonoka:What kind of farmer is always planting but never harvesting?
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Yeah, yeah.
George Bonoka:One that's starving.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Yeah, yeah.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:He's not living long.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So I do think that it's important for us to see that.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And these are just a couple of principles I'm going to extract and to be done that soul farmers have to play for the long game.
George Bonoka:Yes.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So our connection with our unbelieving friends is working, recognizing that this is the work of God working in their hearts.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:We have to be patient with them.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I have a friend, Michael.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:He's on our board.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And literally the process from seeing him invited to do an exchange Bible study to when he got saved was almost a year.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:He actually said no to begin with.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But then eventually the Lord used something, brought him back to an understanding.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I really want to look into this.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I wondered.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It took me so long to do that Bible study.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I genuinely wondered if the guy was genuinely interested.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But it was playing that long game, letting the Holy Spirit do that network.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:You know, Michael is on the board of the exchange.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I think I said that.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I don't think we could do our ministry effectively without him.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It's just that that's.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:That's.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:That's the product, that's the.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:That's the fruit that eventually came out of that.
George Bonoka:Yeah, yeah.
George Bonoka:And I've spoken to Michael several times, and he's just a joy.
George Bonoka:He's growing like crazy still.
George Bonoka:And he's trying to lead his neighbor to Christ, going running with his neighbor to trying to, you know, co worker.
George Bonoka:I can't remember which one it was, but anyway, he's.
George Bonoka:He's always asking for prayers.
George Bonoka:So that's really cool to see the fruit of that and actually meet these people.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Yeah, it is, it is.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And then secondly, the so farmer, when he puts that seed in the ground, he doesn't necessarily expect the harvest from the first contact.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I just think this is a principle now.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:That's not to say that if he went into the field and there was fruit there that he wouldn't take it home with him.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I mean, I think that when we find people ready to be saved, we should immediately allow them to and encourage them to trust the Lord right then.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But recognize that our expectation is we gotta give people room and multiple touches with this truth before we can expect them to make a decision that's gonna be a credible decision.
George Bonoka:I think this is a big deal.
George Bonoka:I think the thing you're talking about is a huge, huge deal.
George Bonoka:And when we don't have the patience to play the long game, I think we can really burn some relationships because you're forcing something and God hasn't.
George Bonoka:He's not there yet with them.
George Bonoka:And the guy, the guy you were talking with, emailing with that we had done the exchange together, we're right now we've built a friendship with some of his friends that they're not ready.
George Bonoka:And I mean, six months, I mean we.
George Bonoka:That guy's wife that we're building a relationship with, she's probably here in my house three times a week with Lexi sitting on my couch just talking about life.
George Bonoka:And we're just sitting there waiting like we've been trained in the exchange seminar.
George Bonoka:We're waiting for those surface conversations to go down to soul level conversation.
George Bonoka:We're waiting for her to bring up some of those soul needs, but they just haven't done it yet.
George Bonoka:And that's okay.
George Bonoka:We just can love them and befriend them and wait for God to do his thing.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Yeah.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And by the way, I think all of you know by now George and Lexi are constantly doing the Bible study with people.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So they're not waiting because they're afraid.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:They're waiting because they really believe God is doing, doing a work.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I'm expecting it, I'm watching it, and I'm going to move when the time is right.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So that's really valuable.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I think that one of the things that you're doing there is that you're not focusing on yourself and what you want.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:You're focusing on your friend and what she needs.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I just think that's really critical.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And then the last thing, and this really is kind of the last one.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And that is that it doesn't do our friends any favors to try to push them, Just like it doesn't do the farmer.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:He goes out and sees the apple tree and all the apples are green.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It's not going to do himself or that apple any favor by pulling it before it's ready.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:You know, he just ruined the fruit and he's ruined his chance to have harvest.
George Bonoka:So that's sobering.
George Bonoka:That's kind of a sobering thought.
George Bonoka:I mean, there are stakes in this thing, and doing it the wrong way could have harmful effects.
George Bonoka:And I think anybody either, right?
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:No.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I think that when we try to push it, what we have forgotten is that conversion is a miraculous work of God, that it's not something that I do, it's not something that I can make happen.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It's really not even a decision that my friend makes, and I recognize it's in connection with the decision he makes.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:But the actual conversion of a soul is a miraculous work of God.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And when we're trying to make it happen, we're actually showing that we've forgotten that.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:That.
George Bonoka:And there's something really relieving about all of this, for me, at least, Jeff.
George Bonoka:I mean, there's something relieving about, you know, I don't have to feel like I have to close the deal here.
George Bonoka:I'm not a salesman for God.
George Bonoka:I.
George Bonoka:I'm just available.
George Bonoka:I.
George Bonoka:I'm ready.
George Bonoka:So I took the training and, and I'm.
George Bonoka:And I've made myself aware of the resources and, and.
George Bonoka:And I'm vigilant, but I'm also just waiting on God and, And looking to him and so relieving about all that.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:It's beautiful.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:You know, the older I get in the Christian life, the more I realize everything is balance, everything.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:The balancing side of that is that Paul, as an ambassador, says that I am pleading in Christ's stead, asking people, please come back to God.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And so there's the aspect of patience, and then there's the aspect.
George Bonoka:Sorry, Pastor Jeff, hold on.
George Bonoka:So that you want to pick up with the aspect of patience.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Yeah.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:So there's the aspect of patience, and then there's the aspect of literally pleading with people and recognizing they need Jesus, they need a rescuer.
George Bonoka:Absolutely.
George Bonoka:Yeah.
George Bonoka:So it doesn't tame our passion about the topic, but it does help us time things with God.
George Bonoka:I think so, yeah.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:And I think sometimes it does tame our zeal a little bit if we're a little overzealous.
George Bonoka:Right, Right.
George Bonoka:Yeah.
George Bonoka:We have to make sure we're not guided by emotions in any regard.
George Bonoka:In the Christian life, we shouldn't let emotions control us, but certainly we should be emotional about this, right?
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Yeah, absolutely.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:Don't control by passion, but be passionate.
George Bonoka:Exactly.
George Bonoka:Exactly.
George Bonoka:Well, is there anything else there that we haven't covered yet?
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I'm Dawn.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:That was really fun.
Pastor Jeff Musgrave:I enjoyed talking about that with you, George.
George Bonoka:Oh, man.
George Bonoka:That.
George Bonoka:That little treasure there in Mark, chapter four, that little parable.
George Bonoka:Boy, sometimes in those little ones is where you get this big, big treasure.
George Bonoka:And it's.
George Bonoka:It's kind of.
George Bonoka:It's neat.
George Bonoka:That was encouraging to me.
George Bonoka:Well, that brings this episode to a close, and we thank you guys for listening.
George Bonoka:Thank you for subscribing, sharing this with people.
George Bonoka:You know that that is our growth plan and really appreciate the support out there for this.
George Bonoka:And that does mean that we need your prayers to pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth laborers and that he would help us at this time reach everybody with the gospel that we can, everybody in our influence.
George Bonoka:Thank you, guys.
George Bonoka:We love you, and we'll see you next week.
