"PRAY TO THE LORD OF THE HARVEST"
PRAY TO THE LORD OF THE HARVEST
Sunday, October 10, 2021, the Year of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
As we consider the “signs of the times,” we must consider that the wickedness and evil covering the earth and through the governments of the world system will not and cannot be delivered by government leaders. The power and authority over nations rests in the LORD JESUS CHRIST and His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. He has given His Church the power as the vehicle of the Kingdom to reveal the righteousness of God through the Gospel of God.
“To interpret current events in the light of Divine purpose is a primary function of the prophetic ministry. God’s prophets do not just foretell or predict, but much of their ministry is devoted to the explanation of signs or messages.” This is and has been a large part of Eastgate Church as the LORD has graced me to take the Word-of-God and relate it to the present times in present truth.
The gospel of Christ is the righteousness of God. (Ro. 1:16).
Romans 1:17-18: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “the just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
Last week I exhorted to Church to check their hearts to see if we are ready to receive the harvest. On October 8th, Dutch Sheets posted on Give Him 15 the following message:
“God changes the times and seasons. Many prophetic believers are confident this is occurring and that we are experiencing a divine shift into a time of great harvest…When it concerns harvest, God’s timing is determined by the spiritual atmosphere of a region, preparation of the hearts of a generation, and the readiness of His reapers, the Church. Since it His will that none perish, he is always ready to save. It is the decisions and hearts of people that dictate when he can do so…We, the church are an important part of this timing. This is why Jesus said, “pray to the LORD of the harvest to send laborers” (Mt. 9:37-38)” (end of quote).
Rick Joyner in his book, Vision of the Harvest, wrote: “What I was allowed to foresee ended with increasing chaos and increasing revival. There will words and exhortations, originating from the very throne of God and carrying great authority, coming to prepare His church for the days to come.”
The following is paraphrased from Rick Joyner’s book, Vision of the Harvest (1994):
1. We must build upon the only foundations that can be laid, Jesus himself. Works that are built upon truths instead of The Truth will not stand in this day. The Church will begin to see Him, “in whom is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col. 2:3). As I stated last-week I believe the days will come ss we continue to 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 both the false and real prophets to know God’s will.
2. We must remove the barriers and facades that separate us from the LORD and each other. We must become more intimate with Jesus, and through Him, each other. Spiritual pride and the idolatry of men, individual truths, works, or vain glory will come under unrelenting discipline from the LORD and will soon be understood as “strange fire.” A pure and holy fear of the LORD will sweep the body of Christ. The church will move into true spiritual worship and a unity that is based on that worship.
3. We must abide in the Sabbath Rest of the LORD. As the LORD enters his temple, the church;our growing intimacy with Him will bring a peace that will actually calm the storm of the rising sea of humanity. The intensity of the times will overwhelm any pseudo peace. We must be yoked together with the “Lord of the Sabbath.”
4. We must heed the spiritual preparation which is reflected in the natural. The Lord is seeking givers who will become channels of His supply. For them there will be no lack. Those that hoard or do not learn to freely give may suffer increasing crisis in their earthly affairs. This is the Lord’s discipline to set them free. Concerning the plagues, there is only one deliverance from the judgments of God and that is to be found in Christ.
5. The just shall live by faith and not fear. Fear will greatly increase in the world. Actions taken by the church because of fear will always prove destructive. Some will be called to walk where angels fear to tread. Know that He who is in us is much greater than he who is in the world. The vessels He is now preparing will walk in boldness and confidence that will astonish a world gripped by fear. When we truly and properly fear the LORD, we will not fear anything else. Soon many will exist in the miraculous on a continual basis. The Lord’s exploits on behalf of His people will be unprecedented, exceeding the greatest biblical miracles. He will be very close to His people in these days.
6. The LORD will open our understanding of the word and His purposes to a depth beyond our present comprehension.
Since this was written in 1994, I have had many visitations of the LORD which opened up the Third Heaven to me in revelations. I certainly have not seen all the wonder of the Third Heaven, but people are only able to comprehend so much of the realm of Glory. When I first began to teach the visions the LORD gave me, these were not received. But now 25 years later, I would guess at least 50% of Christians understand the Kingdom of God, the realm of the Holy Spirit and dreams and visions. The “books” are being opened. The “seals” are being broken. This opening of the Third Heaven has given greater understanding to the body of Christ. The spiritual dimension has become more real to the church than the natural realm.
For those of you who will be blessed to receive “visions and revelations of the LORD,” like Paul you can be assured it may not be profitable to you. The cost will be persecution, rejection and a thorn in the flesh, “a messenger of Satan to
buffet you.”
2 Cor. 12:1: It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the LORD.
As the end-time anointing is released upon the Church to gather in the Harvest, I would expect the same cost will be applied to those who are chosen to usher in the Harvest. I know for a certainty the prophets presently called to decree the LORD’s kingdom government over this nation are under heavy persecution.
Through the tribulation and dry times of the past years, the LORD has been carefully weaving strong cords that He is now beginning to bind together. The authority on the local church level has gone through many extremes to become mature enough to build upon. The competition between church leaders has become almost extinct. As the Body of Christ lays down its doctrinal differences and jealousy, we will be given city-wide, regional and national authority over powers and principalities.
True unity carries a level of maturity and death to selfish interests that demonstrates our ability to handle the highest levels of spiritual authority without being corrupted. Unity will be the natural out-flow of true maturity and true commitment to the purposes of the LORD above selfish interests. As this final battle rages, we are all going to be amazed, and sometimes ashamed, at those we find on our side.
Humble yourself under His mighty hand so that we may all take part in a great exaltation that will be birthed through much warfare between the conflict of the Host of heaven’s armies with the Church against the hordes of Hell. Those who allow themselves to be emptied, who lay aside all personal ambition to become of no reputation, who patiently suffer rejection and misunderstanding, will soon stir the entire world with the message of righteousness.
Psalm 85:11: Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. The Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before Him; and shall set us in the way of His steps.
We will experience God’s righteousness His holiness and His saving action.
In Romans, “righteousness’ is God’s saving victory over sin, man’s enemy, and man’s acceptance by God through the saving Grace of Jesus Christ.
At the Cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God acted in moral and saving righteousness. He offered to man the gift of the righteousness of acceptance that man may go on to live a life of moral righteousness. (F.F. Bruce Bible Commentary – Leslie C. Allen).
The faith-righteous man shares the life of the risen and exalted Christ.
The Lord would rather show mercy than judgment. It is a mistake for prophets to become like Jonah and mourn because the LORD does not bring down His fire on evil and wickedness. Let us speak His words of justice with boldness while praying for the people to hear and repent. A single soul is worth more than the ridicule we might suffer because of the perception that our prophecies did not come to pass. Of how much more value is an entire nation?
There is no way to live a dedicated life in the face of adversity without the power of the Gospel of Christ.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of salvation.
As we have dutifully, and with great joy plowed through the Book of Jeremiah this past year, we have heard the LORD’S words of mercy and forgiveness to Judah begging them to repent of their sins. We applied this to our nation week after week as we cried out with the Prophet Jeremiah for America and our government leaders to repent. The extent of the Lord’s mercy to Judah surely extended the seventy times seven commanded to us by Jesus.
Like the people of Judah, when words of warning and acts of judgment have fallen on our nation, the people are not moved to repent. “We have heard all that before and nothing happened.” The Scriptures are clear that times of trouble will come upon the world; we should always be ready. Let us pray for repentance, but prepare for the tribulations. If it is time for tribulation, which we are surely in, then we know the kingdom is that much closer. So, we have cause for rejoice either way. However, we should not be like the foolish virgins who decided to sleep because the LORD seemed to delay His coming.
Christians sometimes sound like philosophers. we can philosophy about the problems of the world. However, Paul and the Apostles carried the dunamis power of the Gospel to bring changes to the world.
When men believe the message of the gospel of Christ, they are blasted out of their depravity and guilt and supernaturally lifted to the level of Christ.
The moment a sinner believes the gospel, he becomes the “righteousness of God” in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). In an act of faith, the sinner opens his heart to Jesus and invites Him into his life. The indwelling Lord breaks the grip of sin on the believer enabling us to live a Godly life and serve God. At death we are released from the body to live in eternity with the Lord.
John 8:51: Verily, verily, I say to you, if a man keeps My saying (gospel), he shall never see death.
Ro. 1:17-18: for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, the just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
“Because of the LORD’s partnership with the Church, the Holy Spirit is always working in the church and the world simultaneously to prepare for harvest as we go from revelation to revelation and faith to faith. He is preparing us not just to mature for individual growth and happiness, but to prepare us for Holy Spirit’s next phase of activity on earth. As we increase in our level of maturity and understanding of His ways, he can use us to accomplish more and more for and with Him” (Dutch Sheets – Give Him 15 – 10/8/21)
This means all gossip, evil surmising, false judgment, and presumption will have no place in the presence of the Spirit of Holiness as He ushers in the Harvest.
Ps. 85:9: Surely His salvation is near them that fear Him; that glory may dwell in our land.
John 8:24: …If you do not believe that I am the Son of God, you shall die in your sins. There is no way to receive righteousness except by believing the gospel is acquired by Faith. There is no salvation until we open our hearts to Jesus.
Romans 1:18: The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
John 3:36: He that believes on the son has everlasting life; and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church
Scripture from KJV and NKJV. I entered into the labors of Visions of the Harvest by Rick Joyner (1994); Give Him 15 by Dutch Sheets 10/9/21. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those who I entered into their labors.