READINESS FOR THE GREAT HARVEST AT THE END
Matthew 13:30, 39-43; Revelation 14:15.
All the signs we see around us show us that we are at the time of the end, and we need to get ready for the Lord to impart our lives and be ready to go to every part of the world and impact them for Christ.
1. | READINESS OF HIS PRESENT-DAY HARVEST. Matthew 9:36-38; Luke 10:1-2. |
The harvest is ready, and God expects us to bring them into the Kingdom. “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:36-38). God has a harvest of sinners He created, and He wants more people to join in the field of souls to bring the sinners to conversion.
“After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:1-2). Before God anoints, He appoints and assigns people to specific tasks.
(i) The Provision of Free and Full Salvation – Luke 14:17; 2 Corinthians 6:1-2, 14-18; 1 Timothy 2:3-6; Revelation 21:6-8, 27. “And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.” (Luke 14:17). Calvary has paid it all, and Christ has shed His blood to make all things ready for us; all we have to do is come. Forgiveness and freedom from sin are now available to us free of charge because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. We need to have freedom from sin and bad habits, abstain from everything associated with sin, Satan, and sensuality, and possess true freedom from sin and salvation from the Lord before we can be on our way to receiving anointing from the Lord.
(ii) The Purity by Faith in the Faithful Sanctifier – John 19:30; Ephesians 5:25b- 27; Titus 2:14; Acts 15:9. Before Christ prayed for all his followers to be one, he prayed for their sanctification and purity. For the holy and the unholy to be one, the unholy must become holy, and for the weak and the strong to be one, the weak must become strong. God is the Sanctifier, and we must come to Him to be sanctified. Salvation is likened to cutting off a tree, which takes away all the fruits of sin.
After cutting away the branches of sin in a person’s life, they are still susceptible to responding to temptations to sin because the root of the tree of sin is still in the soil of their heart. At sanctification, God uproots the nature of Adam, sin and society from the heart of that person. “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25- 27).
The love of God for the world brings salvation, while the love of God for the church brings sanctification. Christ gave Himself for the world to save the world, and He gave Himself for the church to sanctify the church so that it could be glorious. A glorious church is saved, purged, cleansed, spotless, and sanctified. We need the anointing so that our lives, ministries, preaching, and counselling will bring up a church without spot or wrinkle. Wrinkles are the signs of the presence of the old man; members of the church with the signs of the old man in their character, behaviour, lifestyle, response and reaction to whatever is happening around them are not spotless or without wrinkles. Sanctification and holiness take away all spots and wrinkles from our lives.
(iii) The Power for Fervent and Fruitful Saints – Acts 1:8; 2:33, 38-39; 18:25-28; Colossians 1:10-13. After we are saved and sanctified, the Lord promises us power from on high. People who take power from below, from the den or the valley, are not what Christ promised. We must have the power that comes from on high, which is the power that comes from heaven. The power from on high and the power of the devil cannot cohabit in one person; you must drop the power from the devil and be saved and sanctified before you can receive the promised power from on high.
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). This power conquers Satan, sickness, and every evil thing; it works in the church and the family during the day, at night, indoors and outdoors. You receive this power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you. You have everything Christ has provided for you at Calvary; go in that power and God will do wonders through you and turn your world around for the better in Jesus’ Name.
2. | REJECTION OF PERVERTED HYPOCRITES. Hebrews 6:7-8; 12:14-17. |
The Lord will reject those who seek power and anointing outside the Bible. You cannot do the work of the Lord with the power of Satan, and you cannot have the Holy Ghost upon your life when you carry the unholy gospel that doesn’t touch or change any life. Christ hates hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is preaching holiness in public, practising unrighteousness in private, and talking about the light in the open while going into works of darkness behind the scenes. On the final day, the Lord will reject all perverted hypocrites.
(i) The Fatal Rejection of Christ’s Salvation – Luke 14:18,24; Matthew 22:11-13; 13:14-15; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. “And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 22:11-13).
Those without the wedding garment represent those who refuse the free offer of salvation, thinking their moral standing is good enough to get them to heaven. You must have the righteousness of Christ, from Christ, and by Christ before you can be admitted to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb after life on earth is over. You must be humble and sincere enough to acknowledge your need and respond appropriately to the voice of God from heaven.
(ii) The Foolish Replacement of Christ’s Satisfaction – Luke 14:19-20; 12:16- 21; Jeremiah 17:9-11; Mark 8:36-38. The people who hear about Christ, refuse Him, and opt for alternative sources of satisfaction are foolish. We will not be foolish in Jesus’ Name. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). There is no profit for us if we gain all the popularity, prosperity, prizes, rewards, and awards in the world, and lose our soul.
(iii) The Final Retribution of Continual Suffering – Jeremiah 8:20-22; Matthew 8:11-12; Luke 13:23-28; Jude 1:11-13. “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:11-12).
Jesus confirmed that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob went to heaven after they died; with all that Jesus knows about your open and secret life, can He say assuredly that you have gone to heaven when you leave this world? Whatever the temptation or trials you face here on earth, you must decide that you will not go to hell. The Lord will preserve you for heaven, and may He give you the heart and life that lives for heaven in Jesus’ Name.
3. | RAPTURE FOR THE PRECIOUS HARVEST. James 5:7-8; Revelation 19:7-8. |
The Lord is coming again, and whatever we are doing now to rescue sinners from sin is part of the end-time harvest. When the rapture takes place, the roll called up yonder, and the saints are marching in, you and your converts will be there in Jesus’ Name. When the Son of man returns at the Rapture, He will look for faith, not mere religion, activities without experience or exploits in the Lord.
When Jesus returns, will He find in you the faith that believes in the depth of your heart that you belong to God and live for God, the faith that has the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, the faith that makes you stand when others bend, sway with the wind, and yield to temptation and trials? You must have the kind of faith that made Moses refuse to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing instead to suffer with the people of God.
This faith made Daniel hold fast to his conviction even though it led him to the lions’ den, the faith that made Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego refuse to bow down the Nebuchadnezzar’s idols even though it led them to the fiery furnace. Keep your faith, focus, fervency and commitment; the Lord will be with you until He comes. When the Son of man comes, He will find faith in your heart, faithfulness in your life, and fortitude from heaven in your life in Jesus’ Name, which we from heaven by prayer, and they come by the anointing.
(i) Repentance unto Righteousness by Faith – Acts 20:21, 27; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 2:4-5.
(ii) Reliance on the Redeemer in Fulness – Romans 3:24-26; Galatians 3:13-14; Psalm 130:7-8; Titus 2:14.
(iii) Readiness for the Rapture is Our Focus – Matthew 24:37-44; 1 Thessalonians 5:2-9; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 58; Revelation 19:7-8.