THE HARVEST BEGINS WITH THE TARES
THE HARVEST BEGINS WITH THE TARES
Sunday, October 3, 2021, the Year of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Church are you prepared for the Harvest? Matthew 9:37: The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the LORD of the harvest send out laborers into His harvest.
Joel 3:13-14: Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down, for the wine press is full. The vats overflow---for their wickedness are great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
I am persuaded the LORD is speaking to prepare the Church for the Harvest.
We. the remnant church. have been through seven years of continual warfare, praying, and pressing into Heaven. We have cried out to the LORD to save our nation from the evil tyrants furthering the agenda of the antichrist. We have decreed and declared a mighty, triumphant, overcoming church will arise. We at Eastgate Church have been favored by the LORD to be touched in our services with the Presence of the LORD which has continued to strengthen us for the Battle. Yet the battle rages seemingly more intense day by day. We were told by Jesus at the time of harvest, first the reapers (angels) will gather the tares, bind them in bundles and burn them. We are watching wave after wave of God’s judgment fall upon the Biden regime and thus on the nation. Did we not know there would be a great shaking and conflict between evil demonic forces and the host of Heaven? The Bible told us there would be. Church are you prepared for the Harvest?
The Harvest begins with the tares.
I believe as a Pastor, I have followed the leading of the Holy Spirit as best as I have been given the grace to do so to prepare this fellowship for the times as well as the in breaking of the Harvest. Yet, I see we as a corporate body are not prepared. The LORD spoke to me many years ago at Little White Church when we were having days after days of refreshing from the Holy Spirit that this church body was spoiled. The LORD has taken some back through the wilderness to break off “being spoiled.” Why would he do that? To prepare His body to have compassion with humility when the mixed multitudes come in with the Harvest.
Most Texans were not born humble. I believe humility will be one of the measures of character which will separate the sheep from the goats; or at least a measurement of whether we will be used in the Harvest or left to sit on the side-lines. The grace of humility doesn’t care how right we are, how important we are, about our ego, or our righteous indignation. All of the above is our pride. If we are to be used to minister to the multiplied millions of nominal and/or new believers, all of our vain glory will have to be laid on an altar of fire.
The Lord has spoken to me often concerning his straying flock, “Carolyn many will come to try to save face. Show them my grace.” Ministers we must have the grace to welcome weaker brethren as well as the lost to help them save face. That does not mean we validate or affirm their pride which caused them to fall, but we accept them and receive them where they are with the forgetting and forgiving love of Christ.
People of God, we have to be able to carry the glory which will usher in the Harvest. If one rides the waves of fame, fortune and name, it will take you to Hell unless you can carry it without letting it get-hold-of you. I know many ministers who can’t carry the little they have without getting puffed up. Pride cannot carry God’s glory.
Rick Joyner wrote in his book, Visions of the Harvest (1994): “The present outpouring of the Holy Spirit will ultimately result in many radical changes both for the church and the world. These must be understood by those who would be used by God for one of the greatest events in history. To those who are diligent seekers of God and obedient to His will, these unfolding events will not be either disruptive or destructive---but will represent the greatest opportunities since the creation to witness the great power and glory of our God…The only constant will be change. Those who are comfortable and resist change will have an increasingly difficult time as we progress toward the consummation of this age…Fire burns best upon dry wood, and in almost every place, revival will come upon those who are dry to the point of desperation. It is during this intense drought that the temptation to become lukewarm will be the greatest. This is allowed as a point when a separation can be made between the fair-weather pretenders and those who are steadfast and faithful enough to lead in what is coming. It is easy to be faithful when the LORD is moving in a great way, but it is between His movements when the true leaders are found and prepared. The greatest need for all at this time is the need for diligence and a radical pursuit of God.”
As we pass through times of great chaos and confusion, knowing the will of God will become the most valuable treasure in the world. In the days of tribulation, negligent believers will seek out the false and real prophets to know God’s will.
Ps. 32:6-8: For this cause, let everyone who is Godly pray to You in a time when You may be found. Surely in a flood of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are my hiding place. You shall preserve me from trouble. You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with my eye.
The Lord wants us to have peace in the midst of the conflict and calm hearts in the midst of the storms. The great salvation that Jesus purchased for us has already provided for a peace that no battle can steal. Every trial in our life is given to prepare us for ultimate conflict and ultimate victory.
Satan and his antichrist company now boasts that God claims to be a God of order, but He cannot even unify His own church. The LORD is going to have a church that is “perfected in unity,” and will do so during the times of greatest chaos and confusion the world has ever known.
The scripture for the vision of my ministry is Ephesians 4:13: Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
As the Tower of Babel stood as a witness to the downfall of man, the church in perfect unity will stand as a witness that our God truly is the God of redemption. Satan boasts and is probably convinced that men, and even the church, love his ways more than the ways of God. Before the end comes, there will be a witness that there are a people who will gladly sacrifice everything they have in this world, and even their own lives, to know and walk in God’s ways.
This mandate of taking the COVID shot is the beginning of this stand. Thousands across out nation are willing to lose their livelihood rather than to be forced by the government to lose their God-given freedom of choice.
I believe the Host of heaven and the legions of Hell have engaged in the end-time battle. I believe God’s people will love the LORD so much they will no longer live for themselves and their own selfish endeavors. This great people will soon be known by every angel in heaven, and every demon in hell.
Rick Joyner prophesied the LORD is preparing a great spiritual “fishnet” that will be able to hold the catch that is coming. The net is formed by the linking together of His people. The links in this net are the interrelationships of His people. The strength of the net will depend on the strength of their intercommunication and interrelationships.
At Eastgate, I have been faithful to build relationships with other ministries over many years. There has to be respect and trust between ministries to be able to flow in the Spirit. We all have different gifts and callings. For many years, ministries argued over their revelations and callings. There are many rivers that flow from the River of God, but a day will come when we will all flow together as one mighty river in God’s purposes. It won’t matter what our doctrines and theology is when we get to Heaven. Will we hear, “well done good and faithful servant?”
Eph. 4: 15-17: Speaking the truth in love, that we may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ---from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. I say, therefore, and testify in the LORD, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.
True spiritual authority does not start with organization; it starts with family. When the church ceases to be a family, she loses her true spiritual authority. The Lord will always give the greatest authority to His closest friends. All time spent with the LORD will pay great dividends. Lines of communication are the arteries and veins of the Body of Christ.
Fellowship always bears fruit. Even when we have difficulties, it brings the darkness of our own hearts to light and allows grace to work in us. This will always result in an increase of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We can choose to not be offended, or we can give over to the temptation of becoming bitter and disbelieving.
The LORD dwells in a temple made of multiple living stones, and as we are more properly fitted together in His church, we will experience more of His presence.
“The end of the age will be marked and is even now marked by governments swinging from the complete control of totalitarianism, to the other extreme of lawlessness and anarchy. The government of the church has been experiencing these extremes as well. The LORD is using this to prepare us for the disintegration of civil government which will mark the end of the age” (Rich Joyner – The Vision of the Harvest).
God’s work is redemption. He who has redeemed the world’s most brutal tragedies, also redeems those who have made the greatest mistakes. Those who have fallen the hardest and made the greatest mistakes will become the most wise and stable leaders as the chaos of the world increases. Ask Simon Peter.
Church you must overcome your wounds and use your peace, healing and wisdom to pull others out of their misery. If you are ministering from the pain of your past, anger or from your wounds, you have nothing to minister. It must be very grievous to the Holy Spirit to see the Body of Christ competing and jealous over others’ gifts and callings.
Romans 8:28: All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
If we allow our small wounds to become infected, we are disqualified from ministry.
Titus 1:16: They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
The wounds of betrayal and misunderstanding accompany life in this fallen world. We will all experience them. One of the primary differences between those who go on to bear spiritual fruit and those who don’t is how well they deal with their wounds.
It is by the Lord’s stripes that we are healed. This is not just the physical blows that He received for us, but the evil of unjust wounds was broken because He accepted them without striking back.
Colossians 1:24: Paul said, now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church.
This scripture does not imply that Jesus did not succeed in accomplishing our salvation, but there is a purpose in the sufferings that His church experiences while here on earth. Just as we are healed by the authority of his stripes, we too may gain healing authority by stripes that we take. These stripes are undeserved wounds, may remain sensitive even after they have healed. This sensitivity can cause us to refrain from further contact and nullify our ministry, or it can make us compassionate for others who are afflicted so that we can bring healing to them. When we absorb stripes by abiding in Christ, we, also, gain the power and authority to heal by His stripes that we share.
The magnitude of the harvest will bring great pressure on the church. Some that were used greatly by God in the past have become too rigid in doctrinal emphasis, or too entangled in institutional quagmires to participate fruitfully in the harvest. Those who are linked together by doctrine or who gather around personalities will quickly fall away. Only those who are joined by through Jesus alone will stand the pressure this harvest will bring.
The redemption of so many will bring much joy, but they will come with problems which will bring enormous stress to congregations and ministers. The cords of unity must be very strong to withstand this pressure. The immature and babies will try to divide relationships of leadership just as rebellious teenagers try to divide parents to get their way.
Those who feel called to attack and tear down the old will not be sent from the LORD. Trouble makers will still cause trouble. Gossipers will still spread their venom because of jealousy. There will be many “stumbling blocks” circulating in the church that will cause confusion and some destruction from time to time. Usurpers will try to usurp authority. Take-over devils from baby Christians will
Abound.
Why am I preaching this message today? Eastgate Church has many mature Christian leaders and the LORD is going to be calling on what he has deposited in you when the HARVEST comes in. The people will be like children. They will have to be discipled. They will bring their Gentile futility of mind with them. They will con, manipulate, rebel, and do all the things they did in the world. They will try you and see how far they can push you. If you respond like they do, then you will be the blind leading the blind.
Rick Joyner – 1994: “A new wave of terrorism, bolstered by high-tech specialist will reach unprecedented levels of ruthlessness and destruction. Even with human violence reaching such levels, more will perish by plagues and natural disasters than by wars. During the period of this vision, Earthquakes, especially in Japan and the United States, will spark a worldwide economic collapse. Bartering will again become the primary currency for many nations. Even the world’s most stable governments will be melting like wax, losing authority and control over their populations. Eventually it will be hard to find anyone with the courage to assume authority.”
At the same time, there will be a great harvest. Eventually, the Lord’s presence will be so great that like the twenty-four elders, all crowns will be cast at His feet and spiritual presumption will be unthinkable.
Those in leadership will be the most-humble of all. (We will know God is our only source. We have nothing except He gives it to us). Those who presume leadership without calling will be apparent to all. The leaders of the Harvest will be true servants, nor interested in reputation or position. Their humility will open them to become channels for wave after wave of living water.
This harvest will be so great that no one will look back at the early church as a standard. All will be saying that the LORD has saved His best wine for last. The early church was a first fruits offering.
All the masses will be seeking anyone to take authority during these times. This comes as a warming. The people may try to make a King or Dictator to rule.
Rev. 14:15: Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church
Scripture from NKJV. I entered into the labors of Vision of the Harvest by Rick Joyner. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of Rev. Joyner.