Harvest
I hear the Lord saying we are entering the harvest season. Just as God brings a harvest season to the natural processes of the earth each fall, He is bringing a spiritual harvest season right now. What begins in the spiritual in the harvest season will finish in the natural. This is the movement from the "birth pangs" into the contractions of the end-time tribulation described by Jesus. This harvest season actually touches disciples of Jesus first. That means intensity is felt in the Church before the earth is aware of the harvest. This is intentional:
Mark 13:7-13 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Judgment starts in the House of God. This is a very intentional strategy God has to prepare His Bride to lead the nations in the harvest season that will touch every nation. Judgment must begin with us for several reasons, but primarily because of the end-time role of the Bride to gather in the harvest. Harvest workers must understand the harvest strategy so that they can agree with the Lord of the Harvest. That is why we are instructed in Revelation 12 that overcoming is by the blood of the Lamb which actually purchased not just our lives, but also our own personal testimony...of victory:
Revelation 12:11-12 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
This is about the "last days"...the beginning of the harvest season that touches the saints before it touches the rest of the people of the earth...hence the "woe to the earth." This overcoming is real. For you to have a personal testimony of overcoming, there must be something to overcome! That is why judgment begins in God's House:
I Peter 4:16-17 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
The judgment is described in NUMEROUS places in the Bible. The harvest is described in the form of a very common practice in the natural harvest season called "threshing." Threshing is the act of shaking or throwing the grain in the air that the natural wind will remove the lighter chaff from the wheat. This is what God means when He says "I will shake everything that can be shaken." These words are referring to the harvest act of threshing.
This is the simplest way of saying it I can think of: God is going to shake every man-based strength, desire, plan, and strategy to reveal that the heart of man is corrupt without complete reliance of Jesus. This is because Jesus is coming and is bringing the light of His glory. This sounds real good, but the truth is, if you are not prepared, His glory will consume you. He is "shining His light" to adjust the eyes of the earth to receive Him. He is super bright. To be ready to receive Him, you gotta live Holy:
I Timothy 6:14-16 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
The "threshing"...the act of you and me enduring the removal...the shaking of the foundation of every man-based strength...is perfectly designed to get me to choose to try to hold onto shakeable weak strength or to finally put all my trust squarely on invisible Jesus, His plans, and what He calls strength and wisdom. The world calls Jesus' strength and wisdom "weakness" and "foolishness." Jesus is going to clarify that this is not true by demonstration. You really want to settle truth in advance of THAT demonstration. If you do, you will stand in the shaking, which is also described as a storm, and that storm is hitting the Church first:
Matthew 7:21-27 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
God's desire is that none can be shaken, but for love, God gives everyone what they want. If your heart is set on loyalty to Jesus, very little CAN be shaken, but if your heart is set on material gain, prominence among men, the fear of man's opinion, a "good life" now before Jesus arrives...MUCH WILL be shaken. This is God's love: to separate the wheat from the chaff that the good grain might remain. This will get very intense...this shaking:
Isaiah 13:9-13 For see, the day of the lord is coming— the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with it. The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light. “I, the lord , will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty. I will make people scarcer than gold— more rare than the fine gold of Ophir. For I will shake the heavens. The earth will move from its place when the lord of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath in the day of his fierce anger.”
But it includes ALL THINGS and it starts in God's House...that is why God says not just the people, but also the priest...not just the servant but also the master, and so on:
Isaiah 24:1-13 Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface And scatters abroad its inhabitants. And it shall be: As with the people, so with the priest; As with the servant, so with his master; As with the maid, so with her mistress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the lender, so with the borrower; As with the creditor, so with the debtor. The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, For the Lord has spoken this word. The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish. The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left. The new wine fails, the vine languishes, All the merry-hearted sigh. The mirth of the tambourine ceases, The noise of the jubilant ends, The joy of the harp ceases. They shall not drink wine with a song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. The city of confusion is broken down; Every house is shut up, so that none may go in. There is a cry for wine in the streets, All joy is darkened, The mirth of the land is gone. In the city desolation is left, And the gate is stricken with destruction. When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people, It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.
So this is what the Lord is highlighting today: I harvest my own heart first. I reap what I sow.
Galatians 6:7-10 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
If I am sowing into the field of the world...into man-based strategies for success (in and out of my ministry area), the fear of other people's opinions, or material gain...if I am sowing into anything less-than wholehearted loyalty to Jesus and the very specific season He is intense about right now...which is all about His SPECIFIC plan to return...I am going to reap a lot of chaff that will be blown away as the shaking intensifies.
Mark 13:7-13 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Judgment starts in the House of God. This is a very intentional strategy God has to prepare His Bride to lead the nations in the harvest season that will touch every nation. Judgment must begin with us for several reasons, but primarily because of the end-time role of the Bride to gather in the harvest. Harvest workers must understand the harvest strategy so that they can agree with the Lord of the Harvest. That is why we are instructed in Revelation 12 that overcoming is by the blood of the Lamb which actually purchased not just our lives, but also our own personal testimony...of victory:
Revelation 12:11-12 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
This is about the "last days"...the beginning of the harvest season that touches the saints before it touches the rest of the people of the earth...hence the "woe to the earth." This overcoming is real. For you to have a personal testimony of overcoming, there must be something to overcome! That is why judgment begins in God's House:
I Peter 4:16-17 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
The judgment is described in NUMEROUS places in the Bible. The harvest is described in the form of a very common practice in the natural harvest season called "threshing." Threshing is the act of shaking or throwing the grain in the air that the natural wind will remove the lighter chaff from the wheat. This is what God means when He says "I will shake everything that can be shaken." These words are referring to the harvest act of threshing.
This is the simplest way of saying it I can think of: God is going to shake every man-based strength, desire, plan, and strategy to reveal that the heart of man is corrupt without complete reliance of Jesus. This is because Jesus is coming and is bringing the light of His glory. This sounds real good, but the truth is, if you are not prepared, His glory will consume you. He is "shining His light" to adjust the eyes of the earth to receive Him. He is super bright. To be ready to receive Him, you gotta live Holy:
I Timothy 6:14-16 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
The "threshing"...the act of you and me enduring the removal...the shaking of the foundation of every man-based strength...is perfectly designed to get me to choose to try to hold onto shakeable weak strength or to finally put all my trust squarely on invisible Jesus, His plans, and what He calls strength and wisdom. The world calls Jesus' strength and wisdom "weakness" and "foolishness." Jesus is going to clarify that this is not true by demonstration. You really want to settle truth in advance of THAT demonstration. If you do, you will stand in the shaking, which is also described as a storm, and that storm is hitting the Church first:
Matthew 7:21-27 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
God's desire is that none can be shaken, but for love, God gives everyone what they want. If your heart is set on loyalty to Jesus, very little CAN be shaken, but if your heart is set on material gain, prominence among men, the fear of man's opinion, a "good life" now before Jesus arrives...MUCH WILL be shaken. This is God's love: to separate the wheat from the chaff that the good grain might remain. This will get very intense...this shaking:
Isaiah 13:9-13 For see, the day of the lord is coming— the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with it. The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light. “I, the lord , will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty. I will make people scarcer than gold— more rare than the fine gold of Ophir. For I will shake the heavens. The earth will move from its place when the lord of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath in the day of his fierce anger.”
But it includes ALL THINGS and it starts in God's House...that is why God says not just the people, but also the priest...not just the servant but also the master, and so on:
Isaiah 24:1-13 Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface And scatters abroad its inhabitants. And it shall be: As with the people, so with the priest; As with the servant, so with his master; As with the maid, so with her mistress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the lender, so with the borrower; As with the creditor, so with the debtor. The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, For the Lord has spoken this word. The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish. The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left. The new wine fails, the vine languishes, All the merry-hearted sigh. The mirth of the tambourine ceases, The noise of the jubilant ends, The joy of the harp ceases. They shall not drink wine with a song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. The city of confusion is broken down; Every house is shut up, so that none may go in. There is a cry for wine in the streets, All joy is darkened, The mirth of the land is gone. In the city desolation is left, And the gate is stricken with destruction. When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people, It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.
So this is what the Lord is highlighting today: I harvest my own heart first. I reap what I sow.
Galatians 6:7-10 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
If I am sowing into the field of the world...into man-based strategies for success (in and out of my ministry area), the fear of other people's opinions, or material gain...if I am sowing into anything less-than wholehearted loyalty to Jesus and the very specific season He is intense about right now...which is all about His SPECIFIC plan to return...I am going to reap a lot of chaff that will be blown away as the shaking intensifies.
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