HARVEST PASSION
BY REVIVALIST TODD BENTLEY
PART 1
Jesus Christ was, and is, PASSIONATE about the harvest! His love and compassion for those who were distressed and downtrodden compelled Him to speak these words to His disciples: "The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust laborers into His harvest" (Matt. 9:37-38 Amp).
Today I want the Holy Spirit to stir your heart so that you're excited about wanting to touch a lost and dying world in the name of Jesus. I want you to have a vision and revelation of evangelism. [Evangelism means: the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ—Merriam-Webster Dictionary.] When you begin to go and be a witness, this is when the power of God is released because the power of God is in the gospel! [Gospel means the message concerning Christ—Merriam-Webster Dictionary.]
Before we dig into Harvest Passion I want to invite you to join with me in prayer:
Holy Spirit I ask you to come today with power and boldness. Please begin to train, instruct and equip us. Take us to the feet of Jesus and to The Great Commission. In Jesus' name. Amen.
THE TORCH OF EVANGELISM
Timing is everything! "The Great Commission" to preach the gospel was always on the Father's heart but He had to wait until the appointed time when Jesus Christ could finally release the message (Matt. 28:18-20). [Commission means (a) an authorization or command to act in a prescribed manner (b) an act of entrusting or giving authority—Merriam-Webster Dictionary.]
That momentous time came after Jesus' resurrection when He invited His disciples to gather together with Him on a designated mountain in the Galilee area (Matt. 28:16). Little did they realize that Jesus was about to pass on to them the "torch of evangelism" in His impassioned message (that we call) The Great Commission. Here's what Jesus told His disciples:
"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:18-20).
Sometime after this crucial meeting on the mountain, Jesus spoke once again to His disciples, this time on the Mount of Olives, just before ascending to the Father: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Listen. Just as the disciples needed the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon them in order to receive the power of God and be His witnesses, so do we!
THE FULL GOSPEL
Many of us are looking for the power of God to be released in our lives. We want a release of miracles, healings, signs and wonders. Many believers ask me how to co-labor with the Holy Spirit and how to walk in the power of God. The answer lies in spending time with the Holy Spirit and cultivating a deep relationship with Him. (Many of you know my testimony, how I spent between four to twelve hours a day for several months worshipping the Lord and coming into a deep place of intimacy with God. It was in that secret place whereby God began pouring out His Spirit upon me and I began to receive His power.)
Another way that we can be released to walk in the power of God is by having a revelation of what the gospel is. By this, I mean that miracles, signs and wonders need to be connected to the preaching of the gospel. These demonstrations contribute greatly in making the gospel, the FULL gospel. So having a revelation of what the gospel is means that we need a revelation of the full gospel—miracles, signs and wonders accompanying the good news. And the full gospel is always connected to evangelism.
Winning souls and preaching the gospel goes hand in hand with receiving the anointing for signs and wonders because when God sees evangelism happening, He comes with an anointing for signs and wonders.
I believe that miracles, signs and wonders are released not only as we begin to take action and actually share the gospel, but also when we come out of our comfort zone, overcoming the spirit of fear. Listen. We can overcome the spirit of fear which tries to stop us from spreading the gospel when we have a revelation that God is with us.
Jesus wanted His disciples and believers to understand completely that when they went into the world to preach the gospel, God's presence would be with them and that He would anoint them to demonstrate His power. How would they know this? Because Jesus carefully explained that certain signs would follow those who believe (recorded by the apostle Mark):
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover"
(Mark 16:15-18).
God is going to release a demonstration of His power in the context of the unsaved. As we begin to touch our neighbors, or go into the hospitals and prisons, or approach people on the streets of our city, that's when God will begin to release the anointing for miracles! The Lord will always release and put His power on evangelism.
Also the prophetic gifts like the "word of knowledge" will always come to those believers that want to win souls. It's not for those who just have good intentions but never actually do anything (1 Tim. 4:14-15).
In addition, if we want to increase in the power of God we need to take to heart the proverb that says: "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed" (11:25 NIV). We can't out-give God! When I first got saved I'd spend about four hours every day by myself at the mall sharing the gospel. I'd also go down to a park every night in the summer and "open-air-preach." I used to hand out tracks—200 tracks in a day. I had a heart for souls! I wanted to refresh others and see people touched and saved and I still do. He who wins souls is wise (Prov. 11:30b).
I saw the anointing come in more power in the mall and the streets than it did just about anywhere else. God always blesses evangelism and He always blesses missions. And people like to give finances into missions and evangelism above anything else.
God blesses us when we're winning souls and not just not seeking our own pleasure. You know, we'll find ourselves in missions all the time when we begin to love our neighbour and touch souls everywhere we go (like at the grocery stores, the malls, etc.). Then we'll really see the goodness of God, not just on our lives but on the lives of others, too. The blessing of the Lord that makes one rich (Prov. 10:22) will be released on our lives—incredible favor and anointing because we're willing to share the full gospel and refresh others. Freely we have received and freely we give (Matt. 10:8)!
THE FIELDS ARE WHITE UNTO HARVEST!
Until we're actually giving freely to drug addicts and to those in the hospitals, the prisons and other places such as the native reserves, we'll never see the mighty miracles of God happen. We'll never see a miracle until we actually go where the people are desperate, broke, addicted to drugs and in need of the touch and reality of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus always ministered to the ones that everyone else would have rejected. For instance, when He was traveling through the area of Samaria He broke away from the customary traditional prejudice. Not only did He speak with a Samaritan, which was unheard of for a Jew to do, He spoke to a Samaritan woman which is even "worse" in the context of His culture. To top it all off He also revealed to her that He was the Messiah!
It was in this kind of atmosphere, whereby a little later, He proclaimed to His disciples: "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!'" (John 4:35). I believe it was like He was saying to His disciples, "Go to those harvest fields that are ripe with the ones who are the outcasts and the rejects. These precious souls are ready to be picked for the kingdom of God!" Jesus doesn't want anyone to miss salvation. He'll be sending His servants out to the highways and along the hedges to find the outcasts because they're welcome to come to His banqueting table (Luke 14:16-24)!
Hey! We can't sit around in a waiting mode. We've been told to "go into all the world" (Mark 16:15). We need to be actively pursuing the lost and sharing the good news with them, demonstrating the power of God (healing and deliverance) so they can see evidence of God's love. That's evangelism. That's sharing the full gospel. We need to overcome the darkness with the light of Jesus shining in us (Matt. 5:14-16).
GOING RELEASES THE POWER AND FAVOR OF GOD
Wow! The darker that it gets spiritually the greater the release of the power of God! What I love about the glory of God is illustrated in this scripture:
"Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you" (Is. 60:1-2).
When deep darkness covers the earth the Lord will rise upon us and His glory shall be seen upon us! This promise helped me answer God's call to minister in Africa and India. (God has called FFM to some of the most disease infested place in the world.) We're going back to Uganda this September. In some areas almost 50% of the population has AIDS. We want to pray for those who are HIV positive to be healed! Uganda also has some peculiar kind of insect there now that can actually put someone in a coma. We've been told that some of the people are comatose and others are like walking zombies because of the disease that this insect can inflict. It's very dangerous but we want to go to Uganda and minister to the people there. God's power is going to meet us there!
Also we've been to Nigeria and Ghana, two places where some of the highest rates of malaria exist! These two impoverished nations are where we saw some of God's greatest miracles! I believe we saw about 21 deaf mutes healed. As well, many crippled people, the blind and the deaf were healed. Many different kinds of sicknesses were healed, too!
The power of God came upon us for the work of the ministry in these impoverished nations because God is true to His Word. He said to go into all the world and preach the gospel and that signs (and miracles) would follow (Mark 16:15-18). That's exactly what we've experienced.
Witnessing and power go together (Acts 1:8). Witnessing, signs, wonders and healing go together and they make up the full gospel. But it's always connected to going and when we go we'll see the release of the power and the favor of God.
GOD WANTS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
North Americans will experience salvation and the mercy of God, too, if the people are willing to receive Jesus Christ. With this in mind, the Lord is leading FFM to hold outreaches in North America and we have close to 18 crusades planned until 2006 (and possibly 2007).
Looking back, it was actually in North America, Vancouver, BC, Canada to be exact, where my life changed forever. Here's what happened. I used to take teams of young people with me to the streets in Vancouver. On one occasion we went to a "street church" because the leaders wanted me to preach and share my testimony. I was excited about this. (I was kind of green and I wasn't in the ministry like I am now.) Different types of people came—some were sick, some had diseases and some came in drunk. Most of the young people (with me) were raised in Christian homes, about 14 or 15 years old and had never personally experienced street people like this before.
When I began to share my testimony, people started coming up to the front at the altar. I was still preaching and hadn't given an altar call so I asked some of the team to ask the people what was going on. The team came back and said, "Todd, they're coming to get saved." I was deeply moved and said, "They are coming to get saved? I'm not even giving an altar call and they are coming to get saved?" The people were sitting on the floor and weeping. That experience not only changed my life, the young people were radically changed, too.
Ministering among the drug addicts and alcoholics that night in Vancouver literally launched me into the ministry. Such a hunger for God was birthed in me that I was taken full-blown into a season of visitation by the Holy Spirit. That season of visitation lasted for three months—laid out on the carpet four to twelve hours a day communing with the Holy Spirit. From there I went into full time ministry and eventually into the nations. But it was birthed from going out to a street church!
I want to ask you an important question. Where is God calling you? If you want your life to change forever then get a burning revelation of God's heart of passion for the lost and literally "go from there" into the harvest! If you're like me when I was launched out, you will see a release of the anointing upon your life when you go into the streets. Receiving teaching all day long isn't going to do a whole lot of good if you don't have the experience!
BE AGGRESSIVE, BE BOLD!
We can't just sit around and expect something to happen! We need to take some initiative. Be aggressive! If there's an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus then don't end that encounter without asking the person if they want to get saved. Don't be embarrassed about the gospel! Here's my approach. I give someone the seeds and if the person is listening and receptive and willing to listen to everything I have to say, then most of the time I finish sharing with, "Do you want to get saved right now?" Or, "You need to get saved! Want to pray?"
Evangelism is action—snatching the lost out of the fire! Let's be aggressive about that! Don't be too low key! Now I realize that in evangelism there is a place of sensitivity that focuses on compassion. There's servant evangelism that emphasizes the love of God, the ministry of compassion and loving people into the kingdom. But most of the time my emphasis is on snatching people out of the fire aggressively.
Listen. Wherever it's possible, I try to take the gospel boldly into the market place. We had thousands of people show up once when we did an open air spontaneous meeting oversees in the market place. We just came on the scene, set up the sound system and preached. Thousands came! It was great! (Actually, sometimes when we're oversees, I drive the pastors just about nuts because I'm always asking them what market we're going to that morning. "Where are you going to take me?" Or, "Can we go to another hospital?" I want to be with the people in the market! We go right down into the crowds.)
Let's go to where the people are! We need to get out from behind those walls, both visible and invisible. Let's be the salt and light in the world! (Matt. 5:13-14)
TEL: 604.853.9041 FAX: 604.853.5077 | MISSIONS TEL: 604.853.9041 Ext.235 FAX: 604.853.5077
BY REVIVALIST TODD BENTLEY
PART 1
Jesus Christ was, and is, PASSIONATE about the harvest! His love and compassion for those who were distressed and downtrodden compelled Him to speak these words to His disciples: "The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust laborers into His harvest" (Matt. 9:37-38 Amp).
Today I want the Holy Spirit to stir your heart so that you're excited about wanting to touch a lost and dying world in the name of Jesus. I want you to have a vision and revelation of evangelism. [Evangelism means: the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ—Merriam-Webster Dictionary.] When you begin to go and be a witness, this is when the power of God is released because the power of God is in the gospel! [Gospel means the message concerning Christ—Merriam-Webster Dictionary.]
Before we dig into Harvest Passion I want to invite you to join with me in prayer:
Holy Spirit I ask you to come today with power and boldness. Please begin to train, instruct and equip us. Take us to the feet of Jesus and to The Great Commission. In Jesus' name. Amen.
THE TORCH OF EVANGELISM
Timing is everything! "The Great Commission" to preach the gospel was always on the Father's heart but He had to wait until the appointed time when Jesus Christ could finally release the message (Matt. 28:18-20). [Commission means (a) an authorization or command to act in a prescribed manner (b) an act of entrusting or giving authority—Merriam-Webster Dictionary.]
That momentous time came after Jesus' resurrection when He invited His disciples to gather together with Him on a designated mountain in the Galilee area (Matt. 28:16). Little did they realize that Jesus was about to pass on to them the "torch of evangelism" in His impassioned message (that we call) The Great Commission. Here's what Jesus told His disciples:
"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:18-20).
Sometime after this crucial meeting on the mountain, Jesus spoke once again to His disciples, this time on the Mount of Olives, just before ascending to the Father: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Listen. Just as the disciples needed the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon them in order to receive the power of God and be His witnesses, so do we!
THE FULL GOSPEL
Many of us are looking for the power of God to be released in our lives. We want a release of miracles, healings, signs and wonders. Many believers ask me how to co-labor with the Holy Spirit and how to walk in the power of God. The answer lies in spending time with the Holy Spirit and cultivating a deep relationship with Him. (Many of you know my testimony, how I spent between four to twelve hours a day for several months worshipping the Lord and coming into a deep place of intimacy with God. It was in that secret place whereby God began pouring out His Spirit upon me and I began to receive His power.)
Another way that we can be released to walk in the power of God is by having a revelation of what the gospel is. By this, I mean that miracles, signs and wonders need to be connected to the preaching of the gospel. These demonstrations contribute greatly in making the gospel, the FULL gospel. So having a revelation of what the gospel is means that we need a revelation of the full gospel—miracles, signs and wonders accompanying the good news. And the full gospel is always connected to evangelism.
Winning souls and preaching the gospel goes hand in hand with receiving the anointing for signs and wonders because when God sees evangelism happening, He comes with an anointing for signs and wonders.
I believe that miracles, signs and wonders are released not only as we begin to take action and actually share the gospel, but also when we come out of our comfort zone, overcoming the spirit of fear. Listen. We can overcome the spirit of fear which tries to stop us from spreading the gospel when we have a revelation that God is with us.
Jesus wanted His disciples and believers to understand completely that when they went into the world to preach the gospel, God's presence would be with them and that He would anoint them to demonstrate His power. How would they know this? Because Jesus carefully explained that certain signs would follow those who believe (recorded by the apostle Mark):
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover"
(Mark 16:15-18).
God is going to release a demonstration of His power in the context of the unsaved. As we begin to touch our neighbors, or go into the hospitals and prisons, or approach people on the streets of our city, that's when God will begin to release the anointing for miracles! The Lord will always release and put His power on evangelism.
Also the prophetic gifts like the "word of knowledge" will always come to those believers that want to win souls. It's not for those who just have good intentions but never actually do anything (1 Tim. 4:14-15).
In addition, if we want to increase in the power of God we need to take to heart the proverb that says: "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed" (11:25 NIV). We can't out-give God! When I first got saved I'd spend about four hours every day by myself at the mall sharing the gospel. I'd also go down to a park every night in the summer and "open-air-preach." I used to hand out tracks—200 tracks in a day. I had a heart for souls! I wanted to refresh others and see people touched and saved and I still do. He who wins souls is wise (Prov. 11:30b).
I saw the anointing come in more power in the mall and the streets than it did just about anywhere else. God always blesses evangelism and He always blesses missions. And people like to give finances into missions and evangelism above anything else.
God blesses us when we're winning souls and not just not seeking our own pleasure. You know, we'll find ourselves in missions all the time when we begin to love our neighbour and touch souls everywhere we go (like at the grocery stores, the malls, etc.). Then we'll really see the goodness of God, not just on our lives but on the lives of others, too. The blessing of the Lord that makes one rich (Prov. 10:22) will be released on our lives—incredible favor and anointing because we're willing to share the full gospel and refresh others. Freely we have received and freely we give (Matt. 10:8)!
THE FIELDS ARE WHITE UNTO HARVEST!
Until we're actually giving freely to drug addicts and to those in the hospitals, the prisons and other places such as the native reserves, we'll never see the mighty miracles of God happen. We'll never see a miracle until we actually go where the people are desperate, broke, addicted to drugs and in need of the touch and reality of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus always ministered to the ones that everyone else would have rejected. For instance, when He was traveling through the area of Samaria He broke away from the customary traditional prejudice. Not only did He speak with a Samaritan, which was unheard of for a Jew to do, He spoke to a Samaritan woman which is even "worse" in the context of His culture. To top it all off He also revealed to her that He was the Messiah!
It was in this kind of atmosphere, whereby a little later, He proclaimed to His disciples: "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!'" (John 4:35). I believe it was like He was saying to His disciples, "Go to those harvest fields that are ripe with the ones who are the outcasts and the rejects. These precious souls are ready to be picked for the kingdom of God!" Jesus doesn't want anyone to miss salvation. He'll be sending His servants out to the highways and along the hedges to find the outcasts because they're welcome to come to His banqueting table (Luke 14:16-24)!
Hey! We can't sit around in a waiting mode. We've been told to "go into all the world" (Mark 16:15). We need to be actively pursuing the lost and sharing the good news with them, demonstrating the power of God (healing and deliverance) so they can see evidence of God's love. That's evangelism. That's sharing the full gospel. We need to overcome the darkness with the light of Jesus shining in us (Matt. 5:14-16).
GOING RELEASES THE POWER AND FAVOR OF GOD
Wow! The darker that it gets spiritually the greater the release of the power of God! What I love about the glory of God is illustrated in this scripture:
"Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you" (Is. 60:1-2).
When deep darkness covers the earth the Lord will rise upon us and His glory shall be seen upon us! This promise helped me answer God's call to minister in Africa and India. (God has called FFM to some of the most disease infested place in the world.) We're going back to Uganda this September. In some areas almost 50% of the population has AIDS. We want to pray for those who are HIV positive to be healed! Uganda also has some peculiar kind of insect there now that can actually put someone in a coma. We've been told that some of the people are comatose and others are like walking zombies because of the disease that this insect can inflict. It's very dangerous but we want to go to Uganda and minister to the people there. God's power is going to meet us there!
Also we've been to Nigeria and Ghana, two places where some of the highest rates of malaria exist! These two impoverished nations are where we saw some of God's greatest miracles! I believe we saw about 21 deaf mutes healed. As well, many crippled people, the blind and the deaf were healed. Many different kinds of sicknesses were healed, too!
The power of God came upon us for the work of the ministry in these impoverished nations because God is true to His Word. He said to go into all the world and preach the gospel and that signs (and miracles) would follow (Mark 16:15-18). That's exactly what we've experienced.
Witnessing and power go together (Acts 1:8). Witnessing, signs, wonders and healing go together and they make up the full gospel. But it's always connected to going and when we go we'll see the release of the power and the favor of God.
GOD WANTS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
North Americans will experience salvation and the mercy of God, too, if the people are willing to receive Jesus Christ. With this in mind, the Lord is leading FFM to hold outreaches in North America and we have close to 18 crusades planned until 2006 (and possibly 2007).
Looking back, it was actually in North America, Vancouver, BC, Canada to be exact, where my life changed forever. Here's what happened. I used to take teams of young people with me to the streets in Vancouver. On one occasion we went to a "street church" because the leaders wanted me to preach and share my testimony. I was excited about this. (I was kind of green and I wasn't in the ministry like I am now.) Different types of people came—some were sick, some had diseases and some came in drunk. Most of the young people (with me) were raised in Christian homes, about 14 or 15 years old and had never personally experienced street people like this before.
When I began to share my testimony, people started coming up to the front at the altar. I was still preaching and hadn't given an altar call so I asked some of the team to ask the people what was going on. The team came back and said, "Todd, they're coming to get saved." I was deeply moved and said, "They are coming to get saved? I'm not even giving an altar call and they are coming to get saved?" The people were sitting on the floor and weeping. That experience not only changed my life, the young people were radically changed, too.
Ministering among the drug addicts and alcoholics that night in Vancouver literally launched me into the ministry. Such a hunger for God was birthed in me that I was taken full-blown into a season of visitation by the Holy Spirit. That season of visitation lasted for three months—laid out on the carpet four to twelve hours a day communing with the Holy Spirit. From there I went into full time ministry and eventually into the nations. But it was birthed from going out to a street church!
I want to ask you an important question. Where is God calling you? If you want your life to change forever then get a burning revelation of God's heart of passion for the lost and literally "go from there" into the harvest! If you're like me when I was launched out, you will see a release of the anointing upon your life when you go into the streets. Receiving teaching all day long isn't going to do a whole lot of good if you don't have the experience!
BE AGGRESSIVE, BE BOLD!
We can't just sit around and expect something to happen! We need to take some initiative. Be aggressive! If there's an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus then don't end that encounter without asking the person if they want to get saved. Don't be embarrassed about the gospel! Here's my approach. I give someone the seeds and if the person is listening and receptive and willing to listen to everything I have to say, then most of the time I finish sharing with, "Do you want to get saved right now?" Or, "You need to get saved! Want to pray?"
Evangelism is action—snatching the lost out of the fire! Let's be aggressive about that! Don't be too low key! Now I realize that in evangelism there is a place of sensitivity that focuses on compassion. There's servant evangelism that emphasizes the love of God, the ministry of compassion and loving people into the kingdom. But most of the time my emphasis is on snatching people out of the fire aggressively.
Listen. Wherever it's possible, I try to take the gospel boldly into the market place. We had thousands of people show up once when we did an open air spontaneous meeting oversees in the market place. We just came on the scene, set up the sound system and preached. Thousands came! It was great! (Actually, sometimes when we're oversees, I drive the pastors just about nuts because I'm always asking them what market we're going to that morning. "Where are you going to take me?" Or, "Can we go to another hospital?" I want to be with the people in the market! We go right down into the crowds.)
Let's go to where the people are! We need to get out from behind those walls, both visible and invisible. Let's be the salt and light in the world! (Matt. 5:13-14)
TEL: 604.853.9041 FAX: 604.853.5077 | MISSIONS TEL: 604.853.9041 Ext.235 FAX: 604.853.5077
posted by KFF at 4:00 PM
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