As we gathered for fellowship in our House Church this week, the Holy Spirit brought this message:
There is coming a great reaping. You have not sown one seed of this harvest, but you will do the reaping. The Lord Himself will come suddenly and say, “Come, and reap this great harvest that I have coveted and waited for.” You will be there in the reaping that you have not sowed.
Acts 8:26-39 is the remarkable record of how the angel of the Lord instructed Philip to go to Gaza to preach Jesus to an Ethiopian eunuch of great authority, under Candace, queen of Ethiopia, who had charge of all her treasure and had come to worship at Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit instructed Philip to join the man in his chariot, where he found him reading Isaiah’s prophecy of Jesus being led as a lamb to slaughter, (Isaiah 53). Philip asked the eunuch if he understood what he was reading. The eunuch replied that he needed someone to explain it. He invited Philip to join him and Philip preached Jesus to him. As they went on their way, the eunuch requested water baptism, declaring he believed in his heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Philip baptized the eunuch and when they came up from the water, Philip was translated to another place by the Holy Spirit, and the eunuch went on his way, rejoicing in his salvation. A remarkable record of how the love of God sent one man, Philip, to expound salvation’s plan to a heart ready to receive Jesus. To all who have received Jesus as their Saviour, how we thank our beloved Heavenly Father, for sending those who lived, expounded and preached Jesus to us. God is still using and sending the “1’s”, but a great harvest is coming that the Lord of the Harvest, our Lord Jesus Christ, has coveted and waited for. It will be like nothing we have seen before.
We live in a church age that has an abundance of Christian literature and technology and yet, in many cases, the church appears shallow and impotent to a needy, yet unresponsive, world. Yes, God is still bringing the “1’s”, but….God has purposed for there to be a great harvest and the time to reap is fast approaching. Meanwhile, God is preparing His people. As we allow the Holy Spirit to pinpoint the unreality in our lives, He will sift the wheat from the chaff, remove the wood, hay and stubble that prevents the life of His Son coming to maturity, as we walk in humility before Him. He works with us to bring His order to our chaos, that our lives might demonstrate the beauty of His peaceful kingdom of love. Flowers of hope spring up where sin once reigned. He desires transparency in all things, then only the life of His Son will be seen in us, bringing glory to the Father. He desires our total dependency on Him. There will be fruit and a harvest of souls like this world has never seen – a day of fullness, tabernacle rest, people who are carriers of His presence among a world of crises and chaos. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 describes our calling. God calls the weak, the foolish, the base, the “are nots”. These are our qualifications for His call on our lives that He may work with us to display His strength, His wisdom, His power that no flesh should glory in His presence. When we are in Christ, the nature of His Son is displayed in our lives. 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 “But of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
The world scorns weakness and “the are nots”. These are our qualifications for the potential for the glory of God in you and me. It was God’s plan to make and imperfect man, that we may find our perfection in Jesus Christ. When I cease to be hurt by my failure, then Jesus can be all in all in me – Christ in me, the hope of glory and the divine exchange takes place – His strength and wisdom replaces my lack. Recovery in God does not make me a better person, it makes me more dependent on the Holy Spirit, that I may function in this world according to the glory of God. As I yield to the Holy Spirit in daily circumstances, my flesh life dies as I allow the life of Jesus to live His life through me. Let us learn to daily yield, prepare and get ready, to join the Lord of the Harvest when He calls us to the great reaping fast approaching.
