We’re Not Ready
As we approach 2021 something has been pressing on me, with particular intensity over the past 11 months. There is a lack of readiness in the Church. Not merely one or two churches here and there. I’m talking about the entire Body of Christ, the Bride. I have a feeling that if Jesus should delay his coming it will be less because the gospel has not been preached to every people group and more because his bride is not “without spot or wrinkle” (Ephesians 5:25-27). I say this as a member of the Church, and I am very concerned.
The long awaited “Third Awakening” and “Last Harvest” are at the door. Some believe it has already started. Yet, the Church is not ready. What does readiness look like? Well, it is connected to what the Harvest will need. The Harvest will be made up of people who will be desperate. They are desperate now. They will be more so in the coming months and years. What will they be desperate for? The supernatural. The truth. The very presence of God. That’s what they are thirsty for. Even now, they are weighed down with the oppression of the world and of the kingdom of darkness. They will be looking for help, deliverance, and healing. And they will not find it anywhere but the Church. At least, they should find it there. But, if the churches across this nation do not get themselves together and fast, they will lose the privilege to participate in the greatest outpouring of the Spirit of God and the Last Harvest.
What do we need to do? I believe there are 5 ministries we must activate and/or fortify in our churches. They are Discipleship, Deliverance, Healing, The Prophetic, and Intercession. These ministries are extremely weak in most churches if they are activated at all. Yet, this is what will be needed to minister to the great Harvest to come.
I believe the Church has been too content marking time during this pandemic, waiting until we return to normal. But the fact is things will never go back to “normal”, even when we overcome COVID-19. God has given us a period of time to prepare and get ready. But we are wasting it, satisfied with being able to pay the church bills and hunker down in our fox holes until the virus passes by. We need to be gathering together and establishing a plan of training and implementation to receive the Harvest that is coming. Not just pastors and church leaders, but the whole congregation. We all have been called to be laborers for the Harvest. You might ask “What about the safety precautions for COVID-19?”. We can still implement the safety precautions suggested while we meet, plan and prepare. We can even do some of the work by teleconference. But know this, COVID-19 is not going to stop the Harvest from coming forth. Satan thought it would, but it has only served to make people more desperate for the presence of God and for a touch from the Lord.
Church, we have a job to do, and my observation is we are not ready. This must change …. Now. Don’t miss your opportunity to be part of the last, great Harvest. Start preparing. If your leaders are not pushing this, or leading in this, you get into it yourself. There are plenty of resources from ministries and that are strong in the areas I mentioned earlier (Discipleship, Deliverance, Healing, The Prophetic, and Intercession). Get the books, watch the videos, and talk about it with one another. Don’t wait for your pastor to get you ready. You seek the Lord and get yourself ready. He is calling all of us to get ready and to get to work. “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:2).
Sharpen your sickles….... you’re going to need them!
