THEME: THE GREAT HARVEST
LESSON: Four
TOPIC: Understanding the Agenda of God (Understanding the Manner of the Harvest)
TEXT: Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:4-7; Matthew 28:18-20
MEMORY TRACK:
By God’s grace, we saw from the last lesson that the enemy of the Lord’s harvest constantly seeks to make sure the field is conducive only for growing his own seeds while choking out the plantings of the Lord. As a result, he keeps altering the field in a bid to prevent the seed of the Kingdom from thriving. Just as Jesus did not grow to become a recipient of the highest honour of sitting on the throne outside of this world, we also must grow in this evil world.
The Centrality of God’s Agenda in Preparing Effectively for The Great Harvest (1st Chronicle 12-32; John 6:6)
We cannot be effectively ready and/prepared for “The Harvest” if we are altogether unaware of God’s agenda/program. This is very imperative because without good understanding of God’s agenda, through understanding the scriptures, we may get ahead of God by cultivating a field that God is not presently tilling (1st Corinthians 3:8-9), or be behind God’s movement, and not keeping pace with what God is presently doing. In all, properly understanding the program of God better positions us to be well aligned as tools in His hands for His harvest in the Churches, and much more in the earth.
The Scope/Vision of what God wants to Harvest is Man in His Entirety (1st Thessalonians 5:23; Romans 13:11).
A minister of the gospel once said, “if the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable”. The harvest being spoken of is not going to systems and organizations of the earth, but the spirit, soul and body of men (1st Timothy 2:4-5; 1st Peter 1-9; Romans 8:23). Not properly seeing the scope and boundary of what we are meant to harvest has gotten many works, moves, ministries, and ministers off the track, distracted and into trouble with The Lord Jesus Christ. As The New and Living Way Church, all that The Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to us as per the harvest is the total saving of men.
Becoming God’s Tools/Utensils for the Harvest (2nd Timothy 2:20-21)
A big part of understanding God’s agenda is coming to understand the fact that we cannot effectively participate or be worthy of being used for this harvest IF WE OURSELVES ARE NOT CHANGING, GROWING OR BEING HARVESTED UNTO THE LORD JESUS. While it is great to be zealous and desirous to be used of God and wanting to be a part of the last day army, it is good to know that we ourselves need to be harvested first before we can be effective tools in the hands of the master Our Lord Jesus Christ, because He is the Chief Harvester. This of course does not mean we must have been totally harvested before we can be used, no! Rather, we are saying our minds should be more geared towards being saved first, then the harvest next. That way we will not suffer jeopardy while we are in the process of being useful in the harvest (1st Timothy 4:16). Be upwardly mobile minded/be growing up spiritually minded/be being built up unto God minded! Hallelujah!
Understanding the Various Types of Word Allocation, Manners or Behaviours of The Holy Spirit for the Different Levels of the Harvest (Matthew 28-18-20; Hebrews 5:12:14; 1st Corinthians 3:1-2)
The different levels of the harvest respond to and can only be reaped through different allocation of the word of God. Some, unknowingly, with a sincere heart, have tried to use the same word for all the harvest. This ought not to be so (Revelation 14:14-16). Our growth in handling greater word/sword of The Spirit is what positions us to be better harvesters in the hands of Our Lord Jesus Christ.