Personal Evangelism IV
“It’s Harvest Time”
Good morning and welcome to Central.
If you are our guest, allow me to say thank you for worshiping with us.
Profession: “This is my Bible, God’s Holy Word, it is a …”
Looking at the news, the threat of World War III, the rising cost of gasoline, the declining dollar, the constant threat of terrorism, and the political turmoil, the future seems bleak indeed.
But when you can see beyond the scene and catch a vision of what is going on in the spiritual world you understand that we are now living in the greatest moment of history.
Christ is about to call His Bride home, and like Samson, before we leave, we will see a greater harvest in the end than all the past put together.
Joel 2:24-26
"And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed."
Revelation 14:15
"And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, thrust In thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe."
Harvest time on a farm calls for hard and sacrificial work.
During this special time all other work is abandoned.
From early in the morning until late at night every thing is directed to the harvest. But it is not all hard work.
The days of the harvest are also days of feasting, plenty of the best food is provided for the harvesters.
The prophetic word speaks of a Spiritual harvest.
For centuries the Church has plowed, planted, watered and cultivated, and I truly believe that now it is harvest time.
There have been times of partial gatherings, but the harvest is ripened, and the command is to "thrust in thy sickle and reap."
The season of harvest the Church has been looking and praying for has finally arrived.
God has promised to pour out of His Spirit on all flesh.
"My people shall eat in plenty and be satisfied."
Plenty of grace, plenty of mercy, plenty of power, believe it, this is the time for God to work.
Joel 2:32
"And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be delivered, for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance.
There will be a place of deliverance in Zion, that place is the Church.
The prophets of Old saw a day when a mighty revival would sweep the earth, a time of plenty, a time of restoration, and a time of deliverance.
The prophets described the wonders of that time in words like these:
Isaiah 35:5-6
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears to the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as the hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in the desert.
They saw a time when those who were fearful shall find a place of security and described such a time in these words.
Isaiah 35:3-4
"Strengthen ye the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees, Say unto them that are of fearful heart, be strong, fear not; behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense: He will come and save you."
Job was a type of the Church from its inception to its rapture.
Job started out victoriously, he then went through a time of poverty and persecution.
In the trial Job’s faith held, and God turned his captivity and gave him a double portion of all he had lost.
Even so the Church started off on a high note of victory, but later because of unbelief she fell into poverty and persecution.
During the long dark lonely nights when it seemed that the light of day would never come the real Church has held to the truth.
Like Job, the Church in these last days will come to maturity, and will again shake the nations.
Haggai 2:7,9
"And I shall shake all nations and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, the silver is mine and gold is mine, saith the Lord of Hosts. The glory of the latter house shall be greater than the former, and in this place will I give peace."
Before Satan came upon the scene in Eden, there was no want, no poverty, sin and sickness were unknown, and in the golden age when Satan is bound these things will be absent again.
In the long centuries between Eden and the golden age Satan has filled the earth with sin, sickness, poverty and deceit.
But can I give you some good news, at Calvary God made provision whereby through faith men could rise again and overthrow the enemy.
Our deliverer, Jesus Christ through His teaching, His suffering, and His death, was the expression of God crying out against all the death, defeat, sin, and disease in the world.
The Church, which is a product of Christ’s death and resurrection, is not in the world to bolster up a creed or maintain a ritualistic system of religion; we are here to propagate the gospel of Jesus’ great redemptive effort to restore men to their lost paradise.
The distress and suffering of the prodigal son were intense continuous and prolonged, "and no man gave unto him."
Psalm 142:4
I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
It was said of the prodigal that in the midst of his want, suffering, and loneliness, he came to himself, in other words, a revelation broke over his spirit.
• He remembered his father and how rich He really was.
• He remembered how good his father was, and that with Him there was no lack.
• He remembered the tears his father shed when he left and forsook him,
• He remembered the un-condemning love of his father.
• He remembered the loving arms of the father and he longed for restoration.
It is time for the church to move outside the building and begin looking for the prodigal children of God.
• It is time that we move outside and get a fresh glimpse of the fields that are ripe for harvest.
• The harvest of the earth is ripe and God is with those who will reach out to reap.
• It is time that the church thrust in the sickle and reap.
In the 14th chapter of Luke, Jesus was speaking of the coming Kingdom of God, and He likened it to certain man who made a great supper and bade many to come.
It was evening time and everything was ready, that is what is going on now.
Many of those who were invited excused themselves having, in their estimation, more important things to do.
Jesus said of those, "none of these shall taste of my supper."
The servants were then told to go into the hi-ways and hedges and compel the heathen to come in.
• What the church needs today is a fresh touch of spiritual desire.
• We need a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit.
• We need the alertness of the fire of the Holy Spirit.
• We need the harvest to be the main purpose for the church once again.
Its Harvest time, harvest time, the Saviors calling, the grain is falling, O’ do not wait, its growing late, behold the fields are white, its Harvest time.
John 9:4
I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
The vast majority of the modern Church has refused the invitation to thrust in the sickle and reap this final harvest of the earth, so God has said to the faithful remnant, "go into the highways and hedges and compel the heathen to come, that my house may be full."
He is saying to you and I, go to the millions who have never heard, never been invited, they will listen, they will come.
Luke 13:28
“And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God."
Today God’s priority is to reap the ripened harvest of the earth.
He has commanded every believer to "thrust in thy sickle and reap."
In this building today, I believe is very possibly the final generation of the Church.
We have been commanded by God to bring this message of hope to every creature, and no believer is exempt from the call.
Time is our most precious commodity, we must redeem it.
The harvest is ripe, that means man’s spirit is open to receive, he will listen to whoever gets to him first.
It is time for Central to thrust the sickle into the wheat.
