A. HEALING SERVICE SEGMENT
MAIN TEXT: ISAIAH 53:4,5; 1 PETER 2:24; MATTHEW 8:16 17
SHORT EXHORTATION AND MINISTRATIONS AFTERWARD
1. BY HIS STRIPES I WAS HEALED-1 PETER 2:24 – Completely free from all disorders, disabilities and inabilities in my body and soul realms. This is the root cure accomplished on the cross of Calvary.
2. BY HIS STRIPES I AM NOW HEALED and made every wit whole-ISAIAH 53:4- 5.
3. ALL CONDITIONS OF INFIRMITIES AND SICKNESSES are here and now subject to the power of the healing JESUS CHRIST- MATTHEW 8: 16, 17. HEALING IS FOR ALL NOW
B. TEACHING SEGMENT
GATHERING FRUIT UNTO LIFE ETERNAL- PART 1
LEADING AND OTHER TEXTS: JOHN 4: 31-38; ISA 5: 1-4; JAMES 5: 7, 8; JOHN 15: 1-8
The Lord of the harvest gives the fullest attention to His harvest. He serves Himself and continues to do this as ‘’A Sower that went forth to sow’’. But we also behold Him as the Husbandman that ‘’waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it’’ receiving upon His work the early and latter rain. He carries out ALL ASPECTS OF THE INVOLVED WORK in the perfection of beauty. He is, fittingly, most singularly anointed with the oil of great rejoicing. He is therefore a pattern for us all.
Now, ‘ploughing’ is a tedious work and could be very demanding if it is carried out on either a virgin land or one that has been lying fallow for a long time. Preparation of the ground, however, is most critical to the labour of the sower. Then there is the work of attending to the sown field patiently all through a long season as it receives the rain, the early rain and the latter rain. With time, the precious fruit of the cultivated field matures and is ready for harvest. Then, the time of REAPING comes.
The work of reaping the harvest is by far easier, much quicker BUT requires special skills. The heavenly husbandman invests heavily both on securing the services of reapers and on imparting them with the necessary skills. Blessed are the labourers who are thus fully processed by the Lord.
The great harvest is at the end of the age. The gathered fruit is put to further use by the Lord in pursuance of His eternal purpose. This is the central interest of the Lord in this hour and therefore the main burden of His favoured labourers, THE REAPERS.
In this message, we introduce two blessings the Lord promises THOSE WHO BOTH BEAR FRUIT AND ARE FRUIT HARVESTERS- Understand the distinction here.
1. RECEIVES WAGES – (Brief comments only. Take personal notes)
2. GATHERS FRUIT UNTO LIFE ETERNAL
The second of the two named blessings that the Lord reserves for the Reapers will be briefly searched out in this communion.
A. THOSE WHO GATHER FRUIT- LET’S NOTE THEIR IDENTIFYING MARKS
1. They are first and foremost persons who manifest remarkable fruit of moral excellence; of divine wisdom, love, knowledge and justice.
2. Then, they are ALSO skilled labourers who consecrate unto the Lord and His purpose, mature, loyal-hearted believers. (There are those in the vineyard who, having acquired certain spiritual disabilities, keep themselves away from attaining to that level of maturity and loyal-heartedness to Christ that are needed to be harvested NOW).
B. GATHERING FRUIT ‘’UNTO LIFE ETERNAL’’- WHAT DOES THIS SIGNIFY?
1. ‘’Unto life eternal’’ signifies a further work is to be done by Christ towards both THE HARVESTERS AND THE HARVESTED
2. This work is to be done pre-eminently (but not exclusively) in the local church. This implies instrumental agencies will play some role.
3. Instrumental agencies be afforded by ministries who possess the qualities identifying HARVESTERS. Think much about this.
C. RAINS, HARVEST, FEASTS – WHAT THESE ARE IN PROPHECY IN A NUTSHELL
1. Rains provide seed for sowing, vital to the work of ploughing, growing food crops/fruit-trees and maturing produce.
2. The work of harvest of farm produce in their respective seasons is familiar. Spiritually speaking, harvest work is a major milestone in the realization to God’s Genesis 1:26 mission statement.
3. Festal occasions drive the processes that fully crystallize the emergence of the collective man in the full image of God and after his immortal likeness.
4. Harvests lead to Feasts. But the feasts eventually enable the development of the harvests of persons who attain to the fullness of the age of Christ.
D. CRITICAL ISSUE TODAY-Continuous feasting and harvesting enabled by unceasing rains [A separate burden merely mentioned here to establish the connection].
