Working For The Increase

June 10, 2012

Morning Worship

Text: Luke 19:11-27

Subject: Working for God

Title: Working for the Increase

I want to start this morning by saying thank you to all of you and especially to all who preached and worked in ministry while we were gone to keep things running smoothly. We are back and the Lord is getting ready to do great things among us starting today.

Now I want to share with you a word that I received from the Lord Friday morning while we were at prayer. It was just Frances and I Friday morning (thanks to Frances for her faithfulness) and as Frances was interceding for you and for the community the Lord began to speak to me and before long Frances’ voice was replaced by God’s voice in my inner man. This is the description of how it went:

I saw the LORD sitting on His throne. His appearance was different than as I had seen Him at other times. Normally I see Him as teacher or preacher and I see mercy and grace and love on His face. This time Jesus had a stern look on His face – the look of a judge about to pronounce judgment. Though His face was stern there was still compassion there. He begins to speak to me – again it is different than other times when He would speak words to teach or encourage me. This time He speaks words to tell of things to come…

Mike, I told you yesterday that this is the year of the harvest and that you should prepare the church to receive. I have heard the prayers of your intercessors and have sent My Spirit to intervene in the lives of your families, the church, in your town and surrounding areas, because your prayer warriors have called on my name on their behalf. I heard from the time they began to pray and just now the spiritual battle has risen to the point where strongholds are coming down and the Spirit is able to move against the enemy.

My Spirit has done His work and is now waiting for the church to begin to do its work – to reap the harvest. (Now to the church) Look around you in the church. I have been moving people into this congregation in order to have the church ready for the harvest. The rest now is up to the church. What will you, the church, be willing to do? Are you willing to take the word of life and salvation I have given you into the world and share it with the lost and hurting? Or will you keep it to yourself? I declare this day that I the LORD will give you a greater harvest than you could ever imagine if you heed My words and are willing to answer My call to evangelism. If you will bring the unsaved to church – compel them to come in – I the LORD will change the face of the congregation so that one year from today you will not recognize (if you could see it now) the church. Among them I am bringing in the undesirables who struggle with addictions and immoral lifestyles. But along with them I will bring in others who are willing to minister to them – teachers and ministry leaders who are willing to take leadership roles of ministry among you.

But… if the church refuses to answer My call to be what I desire it to be – if there is rejection of My call – I will leave you in the desert to die off as an unbelieving generation as I left Israel to wander in the desert because of their unbelief, until that generation has passed away. It is not my desire to do so but I will accomplish what I have told you if you refuse to receive the great harvest I am sending you.

So, do not be afraid, be of great courage for I the LORD am going before you – I have already gone before you to prepare the fields for harvest. It is your choice: experience the greatest revival you will ever see or continue in your complacency which will lead to death and not the abundant life I have prepared for you.

If you will stand in faith and answer the call I will bless you. That is why I have given messages to your preachers in recent times to show you the power and authority you have in Christ.

So I say today, “Go in that power and authority and reap the harvest I have given into your hands”

This is the Year of the Harvest!

When the Lord speaks to me like that I always anguish as to whether it is something I should share with the church or if it is for me. This time there was no doubt.