It’s Harvest Time”…by Pastor Charles C Elliott
You may be wondering where we are in end time events, with all that is happening in the world right now... I have one answer... it is harvest time, in the spiritual realm…. It’s always the season of harvest!! Matthew 9:35 “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. v36 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. v37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; v38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into His harvest”.
Who is it, that needs a church? The answer is very simple: EVERYONE! The unsaved and unchurched need a church to present Christ in a meaningful way, and to teach and disciple them, because we all deal with the same issue, and that is the issue of sin and the curse! The saved need the church to stay on mission through fellowship, encouragement , common goals and vision, and to be a support mechanism and sending station to the world. Let me share with you some statistics about our harvest field….How many people are there in the Florida Keys? I would refer you to the 2023 estimate which accounted for a population of app. 80,000. If that is the case, then the harvest has hardly been touched since only about 14.4% or 11,000 of those in the Keys attend church on any given Sunday! We have 4 million 436,000 visitors each year in the keys. If you reach just 10% of those, it would mean that 44,360 visitors would attend our churches each year…. And if you lead just 1% of those to the Lord, you would be bringing 4,436 souls to Christ every year! Truly we live in a mission field! Let me break down who our neighbors are, here in the keys… 65% are white, 10% are black, 23% are Hispanic, and the rest constitute the 2% that is left. Since the open borders, that mix may have changed...
Notice also, that of those we live, work and play among, 17% are under 19…. 17% are 20-34…. 13% are 35-44…. 17% are 45-54…. 18% are 55-64.. 11% are 65-74 and 6% are 75 and over.
That’s our mission field, that’s where the Lord’s harvest field is for the church of the Keys….. If the followers of Christ began to consider the harvest as a clear mandate from God instead of a suggestion, I’m certain that some amazing and positive things would lie ahead for the church in’\this coming year… and far beyond! The harvest season would be harvest season on every level, and /that includes every individual!!!
Evangelism is and has always been embedded in the culture of the church of Jesus Christ, wherever it is located by God. Disciples who left home and comfort for the cause of souls, missionaries who were consumed with winning the lost at any cost, and nameless, faceless, unknown believers, who answered the call to the harvest, and because they did, we are privileged to sit here today, with a faith, a hope, and our eternal future secured! SOMEONE ANSWERED THE CALL OF HARVEST!
It has been said that the church is always just one generation away from extinction and each generation must find it within themselves to insure and guarantee the health, strength, vision and fruitfulness of the next generation!
When we come to the place that we dream it, pray it, think it, declare it, and live it, we will accomplish that unfinished mission of the church.
Our perceptions are where our realities spring from…(think about it). Romans 11:33 is about transforming our perceptions and priorities….
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! ….v36 For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen”.
If our perception is that the job or career we have is about God placing us strategically in connection with others for kingdom purposes, then we will operate out of that perception, and use it as a springboard to witness to others. (That’s an old picture, Craig looks much better now)
If our perception is that where we live was planned by God, in order to influence our neighbors and friends with His eternal purpose for their lives in mind, then we will use our home and our activities to witness to others about the one who placed us there for that purpose.
If our perception is that our recreation and other activities is always about God setting us up to bring folks into an encounter with Him, then we will use it as a witnessing opportunity. It’s all about our perceptions. We picked apples in the blue ridge mountains, and all the way home, Winnie gave them away as an opportunity to say “God bless you” to folks.
This should be the loftiest goal on our “to-do list”….What iftogether we made the adjustments that are needed, of Sharing our Christianity… Can we begin to Dream it, Plan it and Envisionit??? I believe that God blesses actions, initiative, faith and movement toward His own goals for His priorities. Our daily challenge is to align our vision with His vision, and supernatural things WILL begin to happen…..
Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto you, That you are Peter, and upon this rock (the revelation of who Jesus is) I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. v19 And I will give unto you, the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”….. Remember that Jesus said these same things to all those who will get aligned with His vision of building His church family in the earth, based on the revelation of who He is! (He will give you the keys to the kingdom)
More than half of the people you pass every day are without Christ. And it is a growing population. More and more people each year are added to this category. And if we were to throw all the folks that do go to church, into the mix, but have never made a profession of Christ, it would probably be 75% or possibly much higher, which, by the way, is the percentage Jesus referred to in the parable of sower and the soils. That is why Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous.” There are people to reach; there is a work to be done. And of the greatest dangers of the modern church is that we don’t see this as the most important work we are called to do. But sadly, Most everything else comes before the work of reaching the lost with the Word of God.
As Jesus looked at the multitudes around Him, He was moved with compassion for them. This word literally means “to be moved in the heart.” He saw the reality of the need of the people all around Him. He saw them as they were spiritually, and He sought to share His insights with His disciples. He still wants to share His insightswith you and me today! He wants us to see the plight of humanity as He does. He wants us to be able to see the harvest through His eyes. And when that happens, it is a defining and transformative moment! Our greatest challenge as a church is to see the folks around us like Jesus saw them!
On one hand is a family that seems happy. They have good jobs, plenty of money, a nice house and all the things this world can offer them. Plenty of people like that live in the keys. But, if you could look at their hearts, you would see turmoil, fear, loneliness and desperation. They have no answers to the deepest questions of life. They need the Lord! But God loves the up and outer the same as the down and outer.
And then there is another family. They don’t have as much as the first family, but they have jobs and they have a place to live but they’re barely getting by. Their lives are driven by alcohol and drugs. They seem hard to the Gospel and they’re antagonistic toward those who try to tell them about Jesus. But, if you could strip off the layers of their lives and peer into their souls, you would see people who are confused and afraid to die and even afraid to live. They are people without hope and they need someone to see them as they really are and will still love them, and that’s the very person who can reach them for Jesus! That’s you and me! But what’s of greatest importance is thatJesus saw that at the end of their earthly existence, without a relationship with Him, they were all doomed to spend eternity separated from God and everyone they ever loved and held dear. They’ve had some hell here, and now without Christ they’ll have hell for all eternity..
That’s what we can never afford to forget, when it comes to our friends, our neighbors and our families. They may look like they have it all together, but if they are without Christ, they are destined to spend forever in a place that was never intended for them, but was created only for Satan and his demon slaves. Can you see them as they really are this evening... not rich or poor, good or bad, but without Christ?
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, was one of the last of his family to surrender his life to Christ. He referred to himself as a “brand plucked from the fire”, because when he was 5 years old, their 3 story home caught on fire while they were all sleeping. Seven of the children and his parents, got out safely, but John was fast asleep, and when they realized he was not with them, the fire was so hot it prevented anyone from going in…. An onlooker, had another man climb up on his shoulders, and reach up to the boy, who was engulfed in flames coming from the window, and pulled him out. The man on the bottom had to lean against the hot burning building to keep his balance and suffered 3 rd degree burns to his hands, face and chest, but because of his rescue effort, Wesley was saved, just one boy, but because of that one boy, the Methodist movement swept around the world.
I think of the person who lead Billy Graham to the Lord, or Paul Crouch, or TD Jakes. And what about Joel Osteen, or Kenneth Copeland, Rodney Howard Brown, John Kilpatrick, Reinhart Bonke, David Wilkerson, Oral Roberts, or Creflo Dollar, and of course Kenneth Hagin…. Their ministry now, and then, was because someone plucked those brands from the fire… and because of someone’s obedience, those ministries were set inmotion…WOW! I can’t but help recall, while we’re on this,
Doctor Cho of Sheol Korea, pastor of one of the largest churches in the world, with 800,000 people with 10 services every Sunday to accommodate the crowds! When he was a young man lying on a filthy cot, dying of Tuberculosis, coughing up pieces of his lungs, a young Christian girl, in college, was out witnessing, and found him dying, she told him about Jesus, and led him in the sinners prayer. She gave him a bible, and he never saw her again, but his life has touched all of Korea and most of the world! (that’s what one young girl, seeing as Jesus saw, was able to do)…..May we see the harvest through God’s eyes!!!!
—David Livingstone said "If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King ever be considered a sacrifice?"
—F.B. Meyer said "I believe that if there is one thing which grieves the Master's heart with unutterable grief, it is not the world's iniquity, but the Church's indifferences to lost souls."
Do we see what Jesus sees?....Jesus didn’t just see how full the church was, he saw how full the harvest field was! He said “The harvest is truly plentiful”… That’s the “Go” in the Gospel....
They only saw the rat-race, Jesus loved the rats in the race! They saw the problems, Jesus saw the potential! They saw peoples condition, Jesus saw their destiny! They saw the bondage, Jesus saw His amazing Grace! They saw trouble, trials, and sacrifice, Jesus saw the harvest! Do we see people as they are, or do we see them as the Lord can make them to be when they come to Him? We need to see like Jesus sees!
John 4:27 “And as Jesus was sharing with the Samaritan woman at the well his disciples came, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What are you doing here? or, Why are you talking with her? v28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and said to the men, (she was living with) v29 Come, see a man, who told me all things that I’ve ever done, is not this the Christ? v30 Then the people she shared with went out of the city, and came unto him. v31 In the mean while his disciples were calling him, saying, Master, come and eat. v32 But He said unto them, I have meat to eat that you do not know of. v33 Therefore the disciples said one to another, Has someone brought him food to eat? v34 And Jesus said unto them, “My meat is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work. v35 Do not say, “There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest”? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are ripe and ready to harvest”
Sometimes you have to persevere like the young soul winner who was out in the farm country, looking for lost souls…. He came upon a farmer working out in his field and being concerned about the farmer's soul the young man asked him, "Are you laboring in the vineyard of the Lord my good man?" Not even looking up, and continuing his work the farmer replied, "Naw, these are soybeans I’ve got here." "You don't understand," said the soul winner. "Are you a Christian?" With the same amount of interest as before, the farmer said, "Nope my name is Jones. You must be lookin for Jim Christian. He lives about a mile south of here." Determined to not give up, he asked the farmer, "Are you lost?" The farmer said "Naw! I've lived here all my life.” Well then "Are you prepared for the resurrection?" the frustrated soul winner asked. This gotthe farmer's attention and he asked, "When's it gonna be?" Wow!!! Thinking he had finally broken through, the young man said, "It could be today, or tomorrow, or the next day." Taking a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiping his brow, the farmer remarked, "Well, whatever you do, don't say anything to my wife. She don't get out much and she'll wanna go all three days."
Jesus not only saw that the harvest was plentiful, but he saw that it was pitiful!!! He said there’s plenty of harvest, but the number doing the harvest is pitiful….or there are very few working at the harvest!
It’s the little red hen syndrome…. No one was there to help, until she reaped the corn, processed it and made the bread, then everyone showed up….. When the table is set, everyone shows up, but no one wants to prepare the food, set the table or clean up afterward….Everyone wants the fruit of the ministry, but only a few want the work of the ministry! It’s the Holy Ghost Jimmy club….(Gimme, gimme my name is Jimmy!!!) The problem is that a lot of folks want all the reward first, or they don’t do the work…. But if we only do what we get rewarded for in the moment, we probably won’t do much!
Matthew 6:18 “Don’t work to be seen of men, but to be seen of your heavenly Father which is in secret, and your Father, which sees in secret, shall reward you openly. v19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust will corrupt it, and where thieves break through and steal it. v20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust can corrupt it, and where thieves cannot break through or steal v21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”.
In Matthew 4:19 …Jesus told the disciples, if you follow me, I’ll make you “fishers of men”, Now, it doesn’t take rocket science to know that to fish, the fisherman has to go where the fish are…. to the water!
Those who farm know that the harvest doesn’t just gather itself. You’ve got to get out there, get down in the field and do the dirty work of harvesting it. Wouldn’t it be nice if the green beans picked themselves , and piled themselves on your table? What if the okra, the squash and the corn plucked themselves and came to you to report for duty? Well, it doesn’t work that way! To harvest the field, you have to go to where the harvest is. We can sit in the church, but never see a harvest until we go where the lost are sitting & spending their time. For the Christian, the purpose of your job, is to be where the people are, You go shopping to be where the people are. It’s not just about a pay check, or the shopping, it’s where people are that need to come to Jesus.
A Christian arrived at the gates of heaven. An angel met him and asked, "What is your Denomination?" The man tells him and the angel looks down his list, and says, "Go to room 24, but be very quiet as you pass room 8." Another man arrives at the gates of heaven. "What is your Denomination?" The man tells him, "Go to room 18, but be very quiet as you pass room 8." A third person arrives at the gates. Again the angel asked for their Denomination and was told....
"Go to room 11, they were told, but be very quiet as you pass room 8."
The man says, "I’m sorry but may I ask why I need to be quiet when I pass room 8?" "Well, said the angel, the folks in that room are under the impression that they're the only ones here”. …..Aren’t you glad Jesus said. “whosoever will, may come”?….
Evangelist D.L. Moody said...."The only monument I want after I am dead is a living monument composed of those I have won to Jesus, with two legs going around the world, telling everyone about the salvation of Jesus Christ."
I am always amazed and inspired that D.L. Moody, who saw tens of thousands, come to Christ in his great evangelistic meetings, of 1860’ to 1890, after his nightly services, when he had refreshed himself, and enjoyed fellowship with his host, he would go out into the streets of the city he was in, and not return to rest, until he had personally led someone to Christ! He never wanted to allow himself to become careless about the lost, but his desire was to keep it personal.. He loved seeing folks come to Christ!
Psalms126:5 “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. v6 He that goes forth weeping, and bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his harvest with him”.
JESUS SAW THE SECRET OF SUCCESS IN THE HARVEST… and He told folks what the real power was….He said “Pray to the Lord of Harvest”! The Lord of harvest is Holy Spirit! We come before the Father in Jesus name, and petition the Holy Spirit, when it comes to salvation, conviction of sin, and the drawing of men and women to the place of acceptance, of Christ, repentance, and justification and God inside mindedness, It’s the Holy Spirit’s area of expertise.
John15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, that proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me.”
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. v8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment v9 Of sin, because they believe not on me v10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more v11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world (Satan), is judged. (notice the Holy Spirit is in you to judge Satan)
v12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot handle them yet. v13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. v14 He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you”.
The Holy Spirit must prepare the soil of the heart. He must water the seed of the Word that is planted and He must cast the sunshine of grace upon the lost heart, or there will never be a harvest! You want miracles? The new birth is the greatest miracle you will see! But for this amazing miracle to happen, we are to sow the seed, pray over the harvest and be available to do what the Lord of the Harvest would ask of us. It will happen when we see the harvest as the Lord sees it!!!
Let me close with this…. 130 years go in New York City, the glow of earlier religious awakenings had faded. America was prosperous and felt little need to call on God. But in the1850s the third great financial panic in American history swept away the fickled structure of easy wealth. Thousands of merchants were forced to the wall as banks failed, and railroads went into bankruptcy. Factories were shut down and vast numbers were thrown out into the streets to join the multitudes of the unemployed. In October 1857, the hearts of people were in great despair, while debt and hunger stared them in the face.
On July 1st, 1857, a quiet and zealous Christian businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier accepted the call of the harvest, in downtown New York, which was quite a challenge because of the homeless, poverty strickenpopulation of the lower city. Burdened by such great need, with few resources, Jeremiah Lanphier decided to invite folks to join him in a noonday prayer meeting, to be held on Wednesdays once a week. And he distributed a small printed announcement to hand out….
It said “HOW OFTEN SHALL I PRAY”? As often as the language of prayer is in my heart; as often as I see my need of help; as often as I feel the power of temptation; as often as I am made sensible of any spiritual decline or feel overwhelmed by the spirit of this world. In prayer, we leave the business of time for that of eternity, and the interaction with men for interaction with God. A daily Prayer Meeting is held every Wednesday, from 12 to1 o’clock, in the annex building located in the rear of the North Dutch Church, corner of Fulton and William Streets (entrance is off of Fulton and Ann Streets). This meeting is intended to give merchants, mechanics, clerks, strangers, and businessmen generally an opportunity to stop and call upon God amid the joblessness occurring in their respective vocations”. So, at twelve noon, September 23rd, 1857 the door was opened and the faithful Lanphier took his seat to await the response to his invitation …. Thirty minutes later, at 12.30 p.m., a step was heard on the stairs, and the first person appeared, then another, and another, and another, until six people were present and the prayer meeting began. On the following Wednesday, October 7th, there were forty intercessors.
In the first week of October 1857, it was decided to hold the prayer meetingdaily instead of weekly …. Within six months, ten thousand business men were gathering daily for prayer in New York, and within two years, a million converts were added to the American churches ….
Probably, one of the greatest revivals in New York’s history swept thru the city, and far beyond. There was no fanaticism, no hysteria, simply an incredible movement among the people to pray. Before it was over, 1 out of every 5 persons in America had been saved by the grace of God! Think of it....1 out of every 5 people saved....
That is what God can do when people begin to see the harvest through His eyes. May God help us to get His harvest vision! And see the Lord, as the true gate keeper of this city! We’re going to believe God for a Holy Spirit sent, life changing, church transforming harvest…..Can you get in agreement with me?....
Let’s pray together….Lord we pray that any and all demonic vultures and parasites that are feeding on the seeds we have sown, be evicted and terminated, in the name of Jesus. We declare that our labor shall not be profitless and unproductive and every evil force be broken and paralyzed and rendered powerless. Lord, we put to shame and uproot every evil force that would neutralize our labor, our efforts and our energy put forth in Your name. We break open and bring down every stronghold that is keeping back and hindering the harvest from coming to us and all that is holding us back in Jesus name. We take possession and claim ownership to every God given promise, and declare that every instrument, transaction or contract used against us be completely disorganized, canceled and destroyed, in Jesus name. We declare breakthrough concerning growth, increase and success, today in the name of Jesus. We declare that we shall be equipped, enabled, and prepared for a great ingathering in Jesus name.
We dismiss and cancel out every imagination, image, picture and thought of failure. We declare that there shall be no barrenness in our lives and that we are productive, fruitful and increased, in Jesus name. Let every good thing devoured by the enemy be returned 40, 60 and 100 fold, now, in the name of Jesus. Let that which hinders us from the greatness and effectiveness which You have planned for us, begin to give way now, in the mighty name of Jesus. Let all imprisoned, misguided and misused potential begin to blossom, and come forth now, in the name of Jesus. We dismantle every assignment against the vision and that our children and their children’s children, to ten generations shall be saved, and their lives transformed. We declare that the garments of reproach are removed, so that favor and honor may come. We declare that we shall no longer sow but not reap the harvest in the name of Jesus. We declare that we shall no longer reap but not enjoy the fruits of our labor, in the name of Jesus.
We declare that we shall not be subject to the power of the emptier, in the mighty name of Jesus. We declare that we shall not be prey to the wasters and robbers of the harvest, in the name of Jesus. Lord, grant unto us the power to retain, maintain and safely deliver the harvest, in Jesus name. Let there come re-arrangement, re-organization and re-routing of situations and circumstances in order to create a path to miracles, in the name of Jesus. We bind, plunder and render to nothing every anti-testimony, anti-miracle and anti-harvest force, in the name of Jesus. We receive victory over all the plans of wickedness, and we declare that we are no longer the tail, but the head, no longer beneath, but above, for we take our rightful place as power changes hands in every area of our lives, and signs, wonders and miracles begin to abound. Lord, we receive your mandate and we petition the Lord of Harvest in the name of Jesus, and we thank You, Lord Jesus, for giving us the victory for your glory and honor, amen!!!
