Subject: The Harvest Just Ahead
This article was written by Derek Prince
before he passed away. I recently discovered it and pass it along as I believe
it is a fresh word that will give us understanding of the day we live in and
our responsibility in the coming massive harvest. I will print more of the
article by Derek soon. Derek by the way let it be known that his material
should be used widely after he went to be with the Lord. I had the privelege of
meeting him in 1975 where he conducted a revival at Duke Divinity School that
shook the liberal seminary up!
The Bible tells us that no one will know
the day or hour of the coming of the Lord. I believe, though, that we are
getting very close to that day. We know that the events leading up to the
coming of the Lord will happen in divine order. First will come the latter rain
(the outpouring of the Holy Spirit) , then the harvest (final ingathering of
many peoples), and finally the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe the
Lord would have us to be ready and involved in this glorious task of reaping
the harvest so that Jesus can come for His church. I believe God is raising up
an army that will go forth and reap this final day harvest.
In our day we have a repetition of the
situation in Jesus' own day, when Jesus looked out on the multitudes and said,
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." As a nation, we stand at
the crossroads of our destiny in God and our current path into decline. Are we
going to obey the true and living God as our forefathers did, and go forth and
reap the harvest? Or are we going to reject God and His purposes? God gives
nations a choice. And my message to the church in America is this: we must
choose to serve the Lord faithfully and diligently as laborers in the harvest
just ahead.
What is the harvest? It is the last,
great ingathering of people from all nations, all over the world, into God's
kingdom at the close of this age. It is the result of much work, much sowing,
much labor, much sacrifice, and much planning. But ultimately the harvest
cannot happen unless God sends the "latter rain," which is the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit. There is a climax to which everything moves in agriculture.
That climax is the harvest! Everything that is done is for the sake of the
harvest! Jesus Himself said, "The harvest is the end of the age." This age is
building to a climax and the climax is the harvest. There are many events that
have to happen before the harvest can be gathered in. James 5 verse 7
says:
"Therefore be patient, brethren, until
the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the
earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at
hand."
The farmer does not gather in the
harvest until he had received both the early and later rain. All of this is
directly related to the coming of the Lord. It is in this period of the
restoration of all things that we can look for the personal return of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Rain is given for the sake of the harvest. This principle runs
throughout the Word of God. The church age at Pentecost began with a major
outpouring of the Holy Spirit and it is now closing with another major
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is given for
the sake of the harvest!
Let us turn briefly to the book of Joel
to see God's end time plan. Joel is a great prophet of this latter day
outpouring of the Holy Spirit we are experiencing. In the three chapters of
Joel we have in chapter one desolation, in chapter two restoration, and in
chapter three judgment. Again chapter one is a picture of desolation in every
area of the inheritance of God's people. Chapter two contains the promise of
restoration.
"I will restore to you the years that
the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and
the chewing locust."
Chapter three of Joel is the warning of
judgment upon those who reject restoration. There are two symbolic trees in the
forefront of Joel's imagery which are types of God's people. The first tree is
the fig tree, which is Israel. The other tree the vine, which is the church. So
the fig tree and the vine find themselves in desolation --- the vine had dried
up, and the fig tree has withered --- all the trees of the field are withered;
surely joy has withered away from the sons of men. Through the invasion of
locusts and drought, there can be no harvest and no offerings to the Lord of
grain, new wine and oil -- the field is wasted and the land mourns; for the
grain is ruined, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails --- the harvest of
the field had perished.
In the second chapter of Joel we have
the promise of full restoration to both the fig tree and vine representing both
Israel and the Church.
"Be glad then, you children of Zion, and
rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has given you the former rain faithfully,
and He will cause the rain to come down for you --- the former rain, and the
latter rain in the first month. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and
praise the name of the Lord your God, who had dealt wondrously with
you."
God's solution begins with the first or
former rain which comes in the fall in Israel. Its purpose is to soften the
soil which has baked in the summer. And then the latter rain comes in the first
month which would be April. This latter rain is the greatest, heaviest, and
most widespread outpouring of rain in Israel. It purpose is to germinate the
seed that had already been sown. We need to understand the pattern of rainfall
in Israel, because the moving of the Holy Spirit in the Church is represented
by the way rain falls in Israel. The rain is a gift from God and under His
sovereign control and comes so the harvest can come in!
Joel says the Spirit will come to the
Church in two major outpourings -- the former rain at the beginning of the
Church age and the latter rain to close the church age. What we are living in
today is the latter rain --- the last great, heaviest outpouring of the Holy
Spirit that will ever come before the return of Christ.
There are two kinds of people who get
the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Those who have understood the reason for it and
those who don't. Those who don't understand keep it to themselves. They become
little "bless me" clubs. The rain is given for the sake of the harvest. It is
given to make you an effective worker in God's harvest. It is given to gather
in the harvest. Today we have a population explosion of 7 billion souls on the
planet. God knew all along there would be a population explosion. If the church
is purged of its carnality and immaturity and filled afresh with the Holy
Spirit experiencing divine fire and unity, she can see the greatest revival,
awakening and harvest that Joel speaks about. This is the harvest and this is
what lies ahead! Get ready now! Get loosed! Be available to be used because it
is coming!
Summary of article by Derek Prince, B.A.,
M.A. - fellow at Cambridge
This article was written by Derek Prince
before he passed away. I recently discovered it and pass it along as I believe
it is a fresh word that will give us understanding of the day we live in and
our responsibility in the coming massive harvest. I will print more of the
article by Derek soon. Derek by the way let it be known that his material
should be used widely after he went to be with the Lord. I had the privelege of
meeting him in 1975 where he conducted a revival at Duke Divinity School that
shook the liberal seminary up!
The Bible tells us that no one will know
the day or hour of the coming of the Lord. I believe, though, that we are
getting very close to that day. We know that the events leading up to the
coming of the Lord will happen in divine order. First will come the latter rain
(the outpouring of the Holy Spirit) , then the harvest (final ingathering of
many peoples), and finally the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe the
Lord would have us to be ready and involved in this glorious task of reaping
the harvest so that Jesus can come for His church. I believe God is raising up
an army that will go forth and reap this final day harvest.
In our day we have a repetition of the
situation in Jesus' own day, when Jesus looked out on the multitudes and said,
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." As a nation, we stand at
the crossroads of our destiny in God and our current path into decline. Are we
going to obey the true and living God as our forefathers did, and go forth and
reap the harvest? Or are we going to reject God and His purposes? God gives
nations a choice. And my message to the church in America is this: we must
choose to serve the Lord faithfully and diligently as laborers in the harvest
just ahead.
What is the harvest? It is the last,
great ingathering of people from all nations, all over the world, into God's
kingdom at the close of this age. It is the result of much work, much sowing,
much labor, much sacrifice, and much planning. But ultimately the harvest
cannot happen unless God sends the "latter rain," which is the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit. There is a climax to which everything moves in agriculture.
That climax is the harvest! Everything that is done is for the sake of the
harvest! Jesus Himself said, "The harvest is the end of the age." This age is
building to a climax and the climax is the harvest. There are many events that
have to happen before the harvest can be gathered in. James 5 verse 7
says:
"Therefore be patient, brethren, until
the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the
earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at
hand."
The farmer does not gather in the
harvest until he had received both the early and later rain. All of this is
directly related to the coming of the Lord. It is in this period of the
restoration of all things that we can look for the personal return of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Rain is given for the sake of the harvest. This principle runs
throughout the Word of God. The church age at Pentecost began with a major
outpouring of the Holy Spirit and it is now closing with another major
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is given for
the sake of the harvest!
Let us turn briefly to the book of Joel
to see God's end time plan. Joel is a great prophet of this latter day
outpouring of the Holy Spirit we are experiencing. In the three chapters of
Joel we have in chapter one desolation, in chapter two restoration, and in
chapter three judgment. Again chapter one is a picture of desolation in every
area of the inheritance of God's people. Chapter two contains the promise of
restoration.
"I will restore to you the years that
the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and
the chewing locust."
Chapter three of Joel is the warning of
judgment upon those who reject restoration. There are two symbolic trees in the
forefront of Joel's imagery which are types of God's people. The first tree is
the fig tree, which is Israel. The other tree the vine, which is the church. So
the fig tree and the vine find themselves in desolation --- the vine had dried
up, and the fig tree has withered --- all the trees of the field are withered;
surely joy has withered away from the sons of men. Through the invasion of
locusts and drought, there can be no harvest and no offerings to the Lord of
grain, new wine and oil -- the field is wasted and the land mourns; for the
grain is ruined, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails --- the harvest of
the field had perished.
In the second chapter of Joel we have
the promise of full restoration to both the fig tree and vine representing both
Israel and the Church.
"Be glad then, you children of Zion, and
rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has given you the former rain faithfully,
and He will cause the rain to come down for you --- the former rain, and the
latter rain in the first month. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and
praise the name of the Lord your God, who had dealt wondrously with
you."
God's solution begins with the first or
former rain which comes in the fall in Israel. Its purpose is to soften the
soil which has baked in the summer. And then the latter rain comes in the first
month which would be April. This latter rain is the greatest, heaviest, and
most widespread outpouring of rain in Israel. It purpose is to germinate the
seed that had already been sown. We need to understand the pattern of rainfall
in Israel, because the moving of the Holy Spirit in the Church is represented
by the way rain falls in Israel. The rain is a gift from God and under His
sovereign control and comes so the harvest can come in!
Joel says the Spirit will come to the
Church in two major outpourings -- the former rain at the beginning of the
Church age and the latter rain to close the church age. What we are living in
today is the latter rain --- the last great, heaviest outpouring of the Holy
Spirit that will ever come before the return of Christ.
There are two kinds of people who get
the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Those who have understood the reason for it and
those who don't. Those who don't understand keep it to themselves. They become
little "bless me" clubs. The rain is given for the sake of the harvest. It is
given to make you an effective worker in God's harvest. It is given to gather
in the harvest. Today we have a population explosion of 7 billion souls on the
planet. God knew all along there would be a population explosion. If the church
is purged of its carnality and immaturity and filled afresh with the Holy
Spirit experiencing divine fire and unity, she can see the greatest revival,
awakening and harvest that Joel speaks about. This is the harvest and this is
what lies ahead! Get ready now! Get loosed! Be available to be used because it
is coming!
Summary of article by Derek Prince, B.A.,
M.A. - fellow at Cambridge
RSS Feed
