HARVEST TIME PART 2: PASTOR MENSA OTABIL – SUNDAY SERVICE, 21ST MARCH, 2021

SUNDAY SERVICE BY DR. MENSAH OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) ACCRA, GHANA)

TOPIC: HARVEST TIME – PART 2.

DATE: 21ST MARCH, 2021

TEXT: JOHN 4:35

Amen! Let’s rise up together, as we make our DECLARATION OF FRUITFULNESS in this Year of Fruitfulness:

Are you ready? Say with me:

The Eternal God is our refuge. He opens Rivers in desolate Heights.The Lord makes the wilderness a Pool of water.

The LORD God is my Sun and Shield; The LORD gives Grace and Glory.

Therefore, I delight myself in Him. Those who are Planted in the House of the LORD shall be fresh and flourishing.

Though the Earth be shaken; the Name of the Lord is my Strong Tower. By Faith I affirm that: In Christ alone is my Salvation. In Him I live, And move And have my being.

It is written: The Righteous are like trees Planted by the waters; bearing fruits in its Season.

So I boldly declare: As for me, my God has made me EXCEEDINGLY FRUITFUL.

In this Season, my Spirit bears Fruits of Righteousness, my Talents make Way for me. With my hands, I will Plant, I will Build, I will Harvest – Day by day, Step by step.

In Jesus’ Name – Amen!

Today is exactly one (1) Year of going Virtual due to the LOCKDOWN.

So, in a Season when it seems like everything is dark, God still does Wonders!

That simply tells you, that God’s Harvest Time can sometimes come in an unexpected way – When something seems to be disrupting you, it may be the Harvest Time for you!

Because God is able to use situations that were designed for our disadvantage to work to our Advantage.

So today, I’m doing HARVEST TIME – PART 2.

We have been talking about SEEDTIME, WAITING, HARVEST – PART 1. And this is the second Part of HARVEST TIME.

DMC NOTES: You can get access to the Full Text of the three (3) Previous Topics on our Website: www.discoverymediacrew.com and the following Links:

https://discoverymediacrew.com/Seedtime-Pastor-Mensa-Otabil

https://discoverymediacrew.com/Waiting-Dr-Mensah-Otabil

https://discoverymediacrew.com/Harvest-Time-Part-1-Dr-Mensah-Otabil

John 4:35 (NKJV):

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

Jesus is speaking to His Disciples about Harvest. And in this situation, He is talking about: “THE HARVEST OF SOULS.”

And Jesus says: You think it is about four (4) Months more, for the Harvest!

And when he says: “Four (4) Months more, for the Harvest;” He meant the normal Harvest Season – The Agricultural Harvest Season.

But then He says, “LOOK, because the Harvest has come!”

So Jesus is Contrasting the Normal Season of Harvest with this New Season of Harvest.

We learn from this Passage that:

1. WE MUST RECOGNISE OUR HARVEST SEASON.

There is a time for Sowing, there is a time for Watering, there is a time for Waiting. And then there is a time for Harvest.

… And we must recognise when that Season comes!

And then we learn from this Passage that:

2. WE MUST NOT PROCRASTINATE, IN THE SEASON OF HARVEST.

It’s not in the next four (4) Months. It’s not in the next four (4) Years.

When God opens a door or Harvest, we must SEIZE the moment.

I don’t know about you, but when I was Young, I used to say (and I think must of you used to say it too); “When I grow up I will be So and So;”

“When I grow up, I will be a Farmer, when I grow up, I will be a Doctor. Or when I grow up, I will be a Policeman!”

Now, it’s Good for you to say that, when you are twelve (12) years old!

But when you are Forty (40) years old, and you still say: “When I grow up, I will be a Farmer, when I grow up, I will be a Doctor. Or when I grow up, I will be a Policeman” you definitely have missed your Harvest.

Because there is a time to expect something to happens; and there is a time for you to live in those things happening.

So when it is Harvest Time, we don’t Procrastinate!

We don’t say things like: “When God gives me opportunity, if God opens the door.” – He has opened the door. You have to go in and Harvest!

Harvest Time sometimes will appear at the time you don’t expect: You have to lift up your eyes and see that the Harvest is ready.

Luke 10:2-3, Jesus speaking, He said to them: “The Harvest truly is great, but the Labourers are few; therefore Pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out Labourers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as Lambs among wolves.”

Jesus used the Analogy of Harvesting to teach about Soul Winning in the Kingdom of God.

He used the Natural Process to teach a Spiritual Truth.

But what Jesus taught about Harvesting is not limited only to Preaching to win souls; it also has application to how we reap the Seed we have sown into our barns.

And in this Passage, Jesus showed His Disciples how to reap a Harvest; and He taught something very interesting. He stated: The Harvest is Great.

When there is a Harvest Time, God opens great opportunities for us.

That Phrase: “THE HARVEST IS GREAT” – means the Harvest is READY. It is available, it is open. It offers you Opportunities.

“THE HARVEST IS GREAT” also means – the Harvest is RIPE. It is ripe, it is mature: it has gone through all the circles of Maturation.

… It is in its FULLNESS.

And “THE HARVEST IS GREAT” means the Harvest is rich. It’s in Abundance; huge Rewards.

When God brings us to a Harvest, He brings us to a Harvest that is ready, that is ripe, that is rich.

But like I said: It may not have come at a time when you were hoping it would come.

Because sometimes you Pray and Pray for something to happen; and then when it happens; you find, you are not ready!

Because that is exactly what Jesus is talking about: “”THE HARVEST IS GREAT.”

And then He talks about Challenge: “The Labourers are few.”

… Great opportunity, but Challenge!

God opens the door, but we don’t have what it takes – “The Labourers are few!’

Isn’t it interesting that in the midst of GREAT, we are dealing with few? – Great opportunity, few Labourers.

It’s like being in a room with a high Shelve that you cannot reach. You can see it, but you can’t get to it.

“The Harvest is Great, but the Labourers are few.

And then He talks about CHALLENGE: “the Labourers are FEW.”

…GREAT opportunity, but CHALLENGE.

God opens the door, but we don’t have what it takes – “the Labourers are few!’

Isn’t it interesting that in the midst of GREAT, we are dealing with FEW? GREAT opportunity, few LABOURERS.

It’s like being in a room full of Gold sitting on a high Shelve that you cannot reach – you can SEE it, but you can’t get to it.

“The Harvest is GREAT, but the LABOURERS are few.”

What does that mean “The LABOURERS are FEW?” It means:

1. YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE.

A Harvest will put Pressure on you and your Staff – More People are required at Harvest than at Sowing.

Why is that so? – Only one (1) Person can sow a Field; but that one (1) Person cannot reap the Harvest of the Field.

So, if you have, let say five (5) Acre land, and you are Sowing corn on it. One (1) Person can sow on all the Field.

He can go out there and Plant because all he needs to do is make a joke and drops couple of Seeds in there – And that’s it!

But when Harvest comes, the three (3) Seeds of corn has now become a thousand on each Stock.

And so, what is required to Harvest, is greater than what is required to Sow.

And that is why Jesus says: “The Harvest is Plentiful, but the Labourers are few.”

It means that many times in life, you may be the one that Planted the Seed (God used you alone); but when your Harvest comes; you are not going to do it alone.

The danger with a lot of People is, they say: “Well, I was here, I Planted the Seed. I was here from the beginning.”

And when it is Harvest Time, they want to do it all by themselves! They don’t want to bring in other hands; they don’t want to bring in other People!

Your Harvest Time will require that you reach out to other People to come and help you to Harvest.

… The Harvest is GREAT, but the LABOURERS are few!

Don’t be Narrow-minded at Harvest Time! You need to be Broad-minded.

2. Secondly, it means: YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT EXPERIENCE.

A Harvest will put Pressure on what you know; when the Harvest requires Sophistication.

Let’s say, when you start on your own; you know, you do very well. You sow Seeds, God brings increase.

And then your Harvest Time brings you into a totally new world. Where things like the way you communicate becomes important. Even your dinner table manners is important.

At the time when you were Sowing, that was not important. But when greatness comes, you are exposed to a New world, and you need better Experience.

So “the Harvest is great, the Labourers are few”: you need more People, you need to grow your experience.

3. And thirdly, YOU NEED TO GROW YOUR TOOLS.

You don’t have the needed Tools – A Harvest will put Pressure on your Resources.

The tools required to Harvest corn is not the same thing needed to Harvest coconut. When the Harvest requires different tools, you go for different tools.

When the Harvest requires bigger Vessels, you must go for bigger Vessels.

One of the things we learned last Year, when there was a shutdown was: “How do you do Church when there is nobody Present?”

All my life I have Preached before a congregation – That’s what I have done!

I have done that for about Forty (40) years.

As a matter of fact I will say that, in the most Part of my life; I have always Preached before a large congregation – Worldwide, everywhere, thousands of People gather to hear me.

… That’s my experience! Those were the Tools I had.

And I’m used to Preaching and watching People because every Preacher, when there is a communication between you and the People; you can tell when they understand you and when they don’t understand you. And so you can simplify something you are saying.

So People will get you better because it tells from People’s eyes.

… Those are skills I have used for decades.

And then all of a sudden, I have to Preach to a larger Audience (by the way)!

Larger than the ones I have Physically. Larger but I can’t see their faces.

And I have to determine whether they are listening or not; whether they are understanding or not; whether I am making sense or not and be able to reach out to them effectively.

That is a harvest! But, the Labourers are few.

The skill is not the same: what I used to do differently has changed.

And a lot of Pastors were very, very distabilised by that.

I felt, whether you are ready or not, the Harvest has come!

And I had to learn to Preach to the Camera. And do it in such a way that People can get what I’m saying when I have never done that before!

You can complain about the Harvest; you can complain about the difficulty but every Harvest Time has a Timeframe.

And when the time Passes, you can’t Harvest again.

And many of us here, God has opened big doors for us, but we don’t know how to work with People – Everybody you work with, you sack, you fire.

God has given you a big Harvest, but you can’t work with People, you can’t work with Labourers – And everybody you work with, you mistreat.

If you are going to enter your Harvest, you have to learn to work with People, live with People, treat them well, Pay them well, make them a Part of your Team.

You have have to learn New Tools, New Technology; you have to acquire New Experiences.

Why? – Because the Harvest of Great. God has opened big doors, you can’t go in with a small mind – You can’t!

If the door is large, your brain, your thinking, your capacity must also be large.

You cannot act in your Harvest Season as you were in your Sowing Season.

But Jesus then introduces another Problem in the Harvest Season. He says: “I send you as Lambs among wolves.”

Sometimes when Jesus speaks, you wonder – Why did Jesus say that?

Because the normal thing is, you don’t send Lambs among wolves. It’s almost like a death sentence.

Jesus says, it’s your Harvest Time – The Harvest is great, the Labourers are few. But to complicate it further, “you are Lambs going to wolves”.

What does that mean? – It means your Harvest Season will expose you to Enemies.

Your Harvest Season will expose you to Hostility, to Competition, to Enemies. Because if you know anything about wolves and Lambs, one eats the other!

And Jesus says: You are the Lamb, and you are going to be endangered in your Harvest Time.

Because when your Harvest Time comes, and you start harvesting big things – That’s when big wolves also appear.

When you are doing small things, the wolves have no interest in you. But when you tried doing something big, enemies you haven’t seen for years would pop up!

You are going to deal with enemies you never imagined; you are going to deal (depending on your Harvest) with enemies of High Places – Global Level Enemies; Governmental Enemies.

I’m not talking about that little witch – that’s an easy one.

I’m talking about Conspiracies at High Levels.

When your Harvest is so great, the People feel threatened and are going to do everything to knock you off.

That’s what Jesus says: “If you want a Harvest, get ready for wolves.”

That’s why a lot of People leave their Harvest untouched. God opens the door for them, and they say woow: Too many enemies.

As for me, I don’t want too many enemies oooo. I don’t want People to hate me.

… Then you will be a Permanent Sower, who never reaps.

Permanently sowing, but never reap because anytime it’s a Harvest Time, wolves are going to show up.

People are going to try to sabotage you.

And let me talk to most of you who are Business People, and doing Business at the High Level:

Sabotage is normal; don’t come and say: ‘People are sabotaging me.’

Go and read what your Master said! – I didn’t write the Bible. This is Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild.

Jesus Christ the Son of God says in your Harvest Time, I’m going to release you as Lambs (not as wolves) – to wolves.

How can a Lamb survive against a Wolf? – Very few!

Wolves hunt in the Night; Lambs eat in the Light.

In other words, the Weapon of the wolves is Darkness. The Defense of the Lambs is the Light.

So, when you are a Christian, and you are out there competing with wolves; shun the works of darkness and stay in the Light.

And when you stay in the Light, you will be Protected. No matter how voracious the wolf is; the Light of the Power of God and His Words will deliver you.

Wolves are Territorial – They mark their territory: They eat in territories, they attack in territories.

Lambs, they don’t have territories – The territory of the Lamb is the territory of the Shepherd.

Whereever the Shepherd take the Lamb, that is where they are going to feed.

So, whilst your enemy is territorial and trying to fight you over this and that; just watch your Shepherd because He is going to move you from territory to territory; from Place to Place!

In your Harvest Time, People may try to stop you, but the Lord is Good to lead you from Victory unto Victory; from Territory unto Territory and give you Strength.

That’s why He says: “I sent you as Lambs among wolves.” It’s not a disadvantage. It’s a totally New Way of operating.

Because sometimes People may be fighting with you over one Territory; but all that you should do is just watch your Shepherd.

He navigates you to another Green Pastures that the wolves have never seen before.

And whilst they are fighting over that, and destroying one another, you are here in your Open Fields enjoying the abundance of your Lord.

In your Harvest Time, you keep your eyes on your Shepherd. He is leading you as your Shepherd; and you keep your eyes on Him.

For some of you, you are fighting a Territorial Battle. But if you would paused for a minute and pay Attention; you will just see God is Pointing you to another field.

Sometimes, if you are not careful, you will be stuck fighting battles with People who are going nowhere!

… But the Shepherd will take you somewhere.

In your Harvest Time, the Harvest will be great. The Labourers will be few. You need to bring in Labourers: you need to work with People, you need to bring in People, you need to coordinate well.

You need to expand your experience, you need to seize the moment and you need to trust the Shepherd to lead you in the Light; into New Territories.

The wolves would be there, but they cannot stop you!

Let me close with this:

“YOUR HARVEST HAS OBLIGATIONS.

… I’m going to talk about three (3) of them.

I am going to assume one, and I won’t talk about it.

But I’m going to talk about three (3) things that are important obligations during your Harvest Time.

What I assume (which I won’t talk much about) is that: “Every Harvest Time will Favour you.”

It will benefit you!

When you harvest during your Harvest Time, it benefits you.

So, you sow a Seed, God blesses you, it’s going to impact you. You are going to eat of the fruit of your Labour – That’s normal.

But, Three (3) Obligations I want to bring your attention to:

1. In your Harvest Time, First, you have to learn to give to the Lord.

Many times, during Harvest Time People are so overwhelmed by what they are grabbing, that they forget God.

Leviticus 23:9-10; And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the Land which I give to you, and reap its Harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your Harvest to the Priest.

God is saying, when He has blessed you with a Harvest, remember to honour Him with what He has blessed you with.

Don’t be so overwhelmed with what God is giving to you in a Harvest Season that all you do is to expend it on yourself.

2. Second, in your Harvest Season you Give to the Poor.

Leviticus 23:22; When you reap the Harvest of your Land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the Poor and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God.’”

What God told Israel to do is: During Harvest Time (when they went to Harvest their Field), the corners of their Field; you don’t reap them.

You reap Part of the middle and you leave the corners because that is what the Poor (who have nothing) would come and benefit and take something.

That is what Ruth was doing in the Farm of Boaz and ended up with other Fringe Benefits.

But there has to be gleanings.

And the Principle is simple: That whatever God blesses you with, the Poor (People who don’t have) must benefit from it.

So, as you honour God for what He has blessed you with; remember also the Poor – People who don’t have, People who are disadvantaged, and help them.

And I will say: Help the Poor in such a way that you wouldn’t need to help them again the Next Year.

In other words, help them in a way that gives them Independence.

Not dependence on you everyday coming to you for money. But help them in such a way that they can now build their own lives, generate their own income and don’t need gleanings again from you the next time.

Because if all that happens is: ‘Every Year the Poor comes to you’; you are not helping them how to sow and reap themselves – They have to learn how to sow and reap!

3. So, give to the Lord, give to the Poor. And the next one is very important: You start Sowing all over Again.

Whatever you gave to the Harvest, you have to go back and start the Process. Reinvesting – Starting the Process all over again because it’s a circle.

“As long as the Earth remain, Seedtime and Harvest shall not cease.”

So, you don’t reap and Stop; You reap and Sow for the next Season because the Circle must continue.

Every Harvest Season gives us Seed to start all over again.

Alright! Before I close today, I just want to encourage everybody who believes that they have entered their Harvest Season.

Maybe you feel that there are too many wolves in this Harvest Season and so you are afraid.

Some of you have abandoned the Harvest God gave you and some of you, you see the opportunities are great, but you don’t even have the Staff, you don’t have the Technology, you don’t have the ability, you don’t have what it takes to take hold of your Harvest.

I just want to stand in agreement with you in Prayer. If you are in that situation, you say:

I have come to my Harvest, but there are too many wolves.

I have come to my Harvest, but I don’t even have the Personnel.

I don’t even have the Technology.

The opportunity is there, but I don’t have what it takes (the Resources) to take hold of.this Harvest.

I believe the Lord of the Harvest is also able to appoint Labourers for you!

And so I just want to stand in Prayer with you and stand in agreement with you.

For everybody who believes they have come to their Harvest Field and they feel like there are too many wolves, or they don’t have what it takes:

Just stand with me wherever you are reading this Message on the Label of DMC, as we Pray.

I don’t know what door God has opened for you. But I stand today by the Authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, who said there will be wolves, and I Pray with you.

So just put your hands on your heart as we Pray in Agreement:

CLOSING PRAYER

Father, for every child of Yours who has entered their Harvest Field but who is faced with wolves; be their Shepherd, be their Protector, be their Deliverer, be their Helper, in the Name of Jesus.

I Pray Father, that Your Children will not be eaten be wolves.

Though the Enemies may be voracious; You the Lord You are Mighty in War!

So Father, Arise on behalf of Your Children, and Push away every wolves from their Harvest Field.

And Father, teach them to trust You and to stay in the Light and Walk in the Light.

And Father, show them the vast opportunities that You are giving to them. Not to be discouraged by the Battles they are fighting.

I Pray for you in the Name of Jesus that the Lord of Host will fight your Battles for you and give you the Victory and cause His honour to be Established in your life!

May the Lord give you Wisdom in your Harvest Season, to bring in the Labourers that God is sending your way.

To learn the New Experiences, to bring in the People, the New Technology.

And may the Lord introduce you to People, to Connections, to People in High Places, that will link you to Resources so that your Harvest will be fully taken.

May the Lord honour His Name in your life; and in this Your Season of Harvest may you Experience Supernatural Help, beyond anything you have imagined.

In Jesus’Name – Amen and Amen!

If you believe that, say Amen – AMEN!

God Bless you!!!

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