HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Every one of us have had bad days. Every one of us goes through seasons that are difficult and hard. Sometimes they feel like they will not end. All of us go through life’s ups and downs.
There are other times that are like the others. You know something is unusual about what you are going through.
There is a sinisterness about what is happening that you cannot put your finger on. You know that this is not like it was before and it seems like something is orchestrating the circumstances in a way that is not just making your life hard but is determined to either change you, ruin you or kill you.
In the past you didn’t necessarily like the difficult but you knew that life is not easy and so you were able to roll with the punches.
But this is different there is a spiritual component to it. Sometimes it feels so subtle yet so intense you can’t ignore it, but something keeps whispering in your ear that you are just imagining things.
The truth is you are not imaging things you are under a spiritual attack.
These attacks can come when you are at the top of your life, and everything is going ok. Job had it all when Satan went after everything. Job had success in finances, business, family and health and Satan went after all of it.
A spiritual attack can come when you are at the bottom and working your way up, Joseph had been sold into slavery. Finally, he is working for his master, running the house having favor and Potiphar’s wife puts the moves on him. He refuses to give into her advances, and she gets angry and lies about him and he winds up in prison. – Satan has no problem kicking you when you are down. The Bible says that we are to be alert and self-controlled because we are not ignorant of the Devils schemes.
I want to mention that word self-controlled -- You see God gives us understanding, skills and information and then it is up to us to implement His strategies against the enemy’s schemes. With the power of God to help us and our willingness to live a self-controlled life we can overcome every attack of the enemy.
Spiritual warfare is more common than we think or than we like to acknowledge. We are made to think that demonic attack or oppression is a wild and crazy thing that happens. The reality is that it is something that will happen with regular occurrence in our lives.
This month we are going to look at a few specific signs that you are under a spiritual attack. I want to look at two those right here.
You know you are under attack when you feel physical fatigue and unexplainable tiredness.
After Elijah’s great victory with fire coming down from heaven Elijah was physically and emotionally exhausted because he came under attack by Ahab and Jezebel.
There are times we just feel drained we have no motivation and no energy. Our get up and go got up and left and we don’t know if it’s ever coming back.
I cannot emphasis enough how real this kind of thing can be. This is a kind of tired that is deep. You have heard of bone tired. This is soul weary. You are not in sin. You have been faithful. You have done what God has asked. You have even seen some cool things and you think you would be on top of the world. But you are tired.
God’s answer was to feed Elijah and have him sleep.
1 Kings 19:5-8 - Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So, he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
Do you realize that sometimes the most spiritual act of self-control that can do when you are under attack is to eat well and get a lot of sleep.? God still had a long way for Elijah to go. He had a great deal for Him to do. Elijah was so tired that he couldn’t go on. He was so tired that he just laid down under a tree in the middle of nowhere. He was so tired nowhere, was good. Your nowhere is somewhere to God! He will make you comfortable enough there in nowhere, so He can get you rest and filled again. You just have to do what He says. Satan will try to wear you down so that even your greatest victories feel like a defeat or not even worth the effort. Satan counter attacks after our greatest victories so we do not get to enjoy the fruits and the thrill of victory. Sometimes we get weary. But God will bring refreshing, we just need to take the time to rest and eat.
You know you are under spiritual attack when you begin to question God’s goodness. You know you are under attack when you begin to question the God you have trusted. When you start getting angry and even believe that God is letting you down. Satan is whispering in your ear that God is a liar.
How can you ever heal if the one who is supposed to be good let this happen to me? Satan will tell you that the good God is not really all that good and all that holy and all that caring. If that is true, then He really is not all that powerful.
If Satan can cause us to doubt the character of God, then everything else that God does is meaningless.
Our trust stems from the goodness of God. When Satan tells us things that contradict the character of God, we need to discipline ourselves to remember what we know about God.
Psalm 27:13-14 - I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. 14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!
There are times we need to have the self-control to remember what we believe and then wait for the character of God to show up. Wait on God. David said I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. The land of the living is now, not when we are dead and go to heaven. God will allow us to see His goodness in our lifetime. Don’t sit there tapping your fingers in impatience –
look at the Devil and say “I am waiting on God…. just you wait.”
2 Timothy 1:12 - For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
We can trust God with our everything. Many times, the most spiritual thing we can do is wait and trust in the goodness of God. When we do, we resist all of Satan’s lies. Do you realize that waiting patiently on God is one of the ways to make Satan flee? Just because Satan gets impatient doesn’t mean we should get impatient with God. Resist by being patient and watch as God brings victory and Satan flees.
There is so much more to this. Remember He who the Son sets free is free indeed.
You are loved. Have a Great July
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Proverbs 4:26-27 - Ponder the path of your feet and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
Psalm 119:105-106 - Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments.
Feet matter to God! We know that because the Bible has a great deal to say about feet. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they care for their feet and by the shoes that they wear.
In most cities and in most businesses, people make sure that their shoes are both comfortable, practical and shined. In Florida flip- flops and sandals are appropriate foot wear for church and fine dining. In the military, foot care is taught as one of the most important duties of a soldier.
Some people have small feet, others have long flippers that arrive a full five seconds before the rest of the person. Most teenagers have a period of awkward adjustment while they grow into their feet. All of us know some people who have feet, that have to put it mildly, a not so pleasant fragrance and have the ability to clear a room. If your feet hurt, your whole-body hurts. If your feet are cold, you are cold all over. If your feet are dirty, you can’t feel clean until your wash your feet.
Feet represent the whole body - Whether you know it or not, your feet represent all of you. After all, wherever your feet go, the rest of you must follow. The Bible promises that if we trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding and in all our ways that we acknowledge Him and seek His will He will direct our paths. When God directs our paths, we are able to stay in His ways and in HIS will. When we do this, we will be stable, safe and secure in everything.
The truth is that very few people really walk the narrow road that God has laid out. They do wind up turning to the left and to the right and get off track.
Matthew 7:13-14 - “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Many people have their eyes set on the broad way. It is no coincidence that one of the centers of entertainment in America is called Broadway. The NLT calls it the highway to hell.
Listen, the broad-way is easy anyone can do it. The Lord’s way is narrow and difficult to travel. It requires effort, skill and attention; but it leads to life. The mantra of the world is - follow your heart, follow your dreams. Jeremiah 17:9 - “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? There is probably no worse advice that we could give somebody than to follow your heart.
We are not called by God to follow our heart we are called to follow Jesus. We are not called in the Bible to be the best version of ourselves. We are called to die to ourselves and to follow Jesus.
Feet are a vital part of the Great Commission.
Isaiah 52:7 - How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Most people would not describe feet as beautiful. When your feet are on the mountains you are on top of the world. You are declaring good news, good things and salvation. The mountains were where the high places were. They are where the idols were, where people place false hope. Someone has to go to the false places that people trust in and declare it is our God who reigns.
The first word of the Great Commission is GO. We are to GO into all the world and preach the Gospel. What world --- our world. Not everyone is called to go to the entire world but into the known world. Your world.
It is your feet that carry you to places. They are what God gave you and me to have mobility.
Romans 10:14-15 - How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
I love the saying that you have to put feet to your faith. You do. How do you do that –GO!
Someone needs to hear this. Satan is under your feet. Romans 16:20 - And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Satan can’t get anything over on you if you understand that He is under you. When you and I came under attack we need to remember that Satan is under our feet.
When you have an enemy under your feet you have the strategic advantage, you have the leverage and in battle you are to keep kicking until the enemy stops moving.
Luke 10:19 (AMP) - Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you.
You and I need to understand the power and authority that Jesus has given us as His disciples.
Never forget — the only place that rightfully belongs to the devil is the small space of ground right under your feet!
I believe that the summer ahead of us is a summer of victory! Each year we take time to have some R&R during the summer but each year we have watched as God does great things as our church continues to advance. Get ready for what God is going to do. Keep praying, believing and moving your feet!
Know that you are Loved, Pastor Marvin & Dawn
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Luke 12:6-8 - “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.
I think one of the greatest moments in the life of any Christian is the deep realization of how incredibly they are loved by God as an individual and a person. God not only SO loved the world…. God loves you and me. We are valuable to Him and He knows us so well that He even knows the numbers of the hairs on our head. He knows us that well and cares that deeply.
Everyone is wounded or has been wounded in some way or another. No one goes through life unscathed. No one. All of us have been hurt in some form or fashion. Many Christians have come to Christ. They are saved; They have even been baptized in the Holy Spirit, but they still suffer from an orphan’s heart.
In their head they know that they are a child of God, but internally, they don’t feel like they are family, and they find it difficult to safely relate to God as their Father. Somehow they still feel rejected by others because they reject certain things about themselves.
I believe God desires to heal some deep wounds to fix broken hearts, and to release you into the realization that He is your Father.
Psalm 147:3 - He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
One of the names of the Holy Spirit is Counselor. One who heals the physical needs – is a Physician. God is the Great Physician, God knew in His infinite wisdom that we would also need inner healing, that is why He is a Wonderful Counselor. Wonderful describes who HE is but it also describes how we feel after we have encountered our supernatural Counselor. It is possible to be changed and saved but not yet healed.
A key step to healing is admitting, accepting and recognizing that we are damaged and broken. When we are able to admit how our hurts have affected our lives and our decisions it gives us a starting point to allow God to work in us. Part of the process of healing is realizing that our wounds do not describe us or identify who we are. You and I are Children of God. We are not what was done to us or what we did to ourselves.
There are some things that only a Father can heal. It is in family that we find our true Identity.
When the prodigal son came home. He was defeated, ruined, embarrassed, humiliated and poor. He was the guy who thought he could take on the world, and the world beat him down. He was the guy who failed so badly that he was stealing food from the pigs.
When he came home the Father embraced him and affirmed him instead of embarrassing him. Only a Father can treat you as a son or a daughter. That is what God wants to do for you.
Romans 8:14-15 - 14 For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “Abba! Father!”
Abba is the Hebrew way of saying Dad.
It is the more familiar form of father. Abba is a term of affection. It is not the cuttsie way of saying daddy like a little girl. Abba can be used by both men and women – not just boys or girls. People who have a deep appreciation for the love, provision, acceptance and care they have received from a father use “Abba.” Some people have tried to trivialize this term as saying, “Daddy God”. That has always struck a nerve of immaturity in me. Abba is an intimate honorable way of saying father. Abba is something that is used by adult children that find their identity in God.
Only our Father can turn our wounds into weapons and our hurts into helps. Only our Father can help us to realize that His grace is made perfect in our weakness, and that when we are weak, then we are strong.
Romans 8:28 (AMP) - And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.
Things that were meant to hurt us and that have caused us pain will eventually be used for some good purpose. All things work together for our good.
We really can’t say that we have been healed until we see how God can take our brokenness and make it a tool in our lives. Instead of us being under the thumb of our pain it becomes something that we put to work in our lives.
Nothing that we have experienced – nothing that we have been through – is wasted in Jesus. He makes all things work for Good.
Scars are a testimony of healing. Tender scars are a reminder that we are still healing, and a work in progress.
God desires for you to move from broken and woundedness to healing today.
I look forward to hearing all about the healing God is accomplishing in each of our lives.
Know that you are loved.
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Most Christians are familiar with the idea of Baptism. Some Christians sprinkle the heads of infants when they are born.
The Biblical model of Baptism is a choice that someone who is of full age and understanding makes when they are fully immersed in water as they make a decision to follow Christ as their Lord and Savior. This baptism can be done by any Christian to another. It is a part of the Great Commission, and we are to do it in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
This is the Baptism that is understood by most Bible believing Christians.
John the Baptist introduced us to this basic obedience when He baptized Jesus. As we go into the water it is a sign of dying to our old life of sin and our old ways. Coming out of the water is a symbol of rising out of the grave and living our new life in Christ. The old has gone. The new has come.
There are two types of Baptisms mentioned in the Bible.
There is baptism in water, and Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
In Pentecostal circles we understand both to a point. The Second one, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, we understand as a filling with Power that results in Speaking in other tongues and seeing signs and wonders following our ministry for Jesus.
It is so much more than that.
There are two words in the Greek that give us the words Baptism, and both have entirely different meanings.
The first is the word-
Bapto – which means to wash or dip, it is a quick in and out. This is the idea behind being baptized in water. It is a baptism unto repentance. It makes us clean and free from sin.
Romans 6:4 - Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Baptizo – means to be submerged for a significant amount of time until what has been submerged becomes something entirely different than it was.
A very, very long time ago, a Greek poet and physician named Nicander, wrote a recipe for making pickles. This Greek writer used both words that can be understood as baptism, and in the context, we are able to see the two different meanings. Nicander said that in making pickles, one must bapto the vegetable (dip it) into boiling water, and then baptizo the vegetable (baptize it) in a vinegar solution.
We all know that dipping a cucumber in water doesn’t do much to change it; that action will rinse off some of the outside dirt and give you a pretty clean cucumber to munch on, but it won’t change the cucumber into a something else. Baptizing a cucumber, however, produces permanent change to the vegetable. Out of these two words, baptizo is the word we find in the Bible, and it’s the one that’s meaningful for us.
Submerging a cucumber in vinegar (baptizing a cucumber) results in a permanent change in the vegetable. It no longer looks the same, tastes the same, or smells the same as a cucumber. In fact, it’s identified by an entirely different name. It’s now a pickle! And pickles are used for entirely different meals than cucumbers.
A Disciple is - A fully devoted, committed, obedient follower of Jesus Christ.
Today we have many people who identify themselves as a Christian, but not as a disciple.
I believe the reason for this is that if they have been baptized, they have only been baptized into the baptism of repentance. This is good, but they have not been fully immersed in the Holy Spirit. They have not been pickled.
The two baptisms are necessary for every believer and follower of Christ.
The first Baptism is what makes us clean. It is the second baptism. The Baptizo – That truly changes us. It is a baptism of transformation. When a cucumber is placed in the pickling brine it is still just a cucumber in a pickling solution. Over time as the cucumber is fully immersed in the brine the cucumber changes because it soon becomes saturated with the pickling solution, and what was once on the outside is now fully on the inside, and everything about the cucumber is changed.
It no longer looks like a cucumber, tastes like a cucumber or smells like a cucumber. It is an entirely new thing - it is a pickle.
It is one thing for us to be IN the Spirit. It is a totally different thing when we allow the Holy Spirit INSIDE of us - so much so that we are totally transformed.
The reason so many Christians look and sound more like the world instead of more like Jesus is they are content to get the Holy Spirit on them, but they have yet to let the Holy Spirit to so saturate their life that they are something completely new.
Do you consider yourself a disciple or do you just identify with Christianity? This is an important question in our day and a vital distinction to make. We live in a time where people believe that they can self-identify with whatever they want. Just because you identify as something doesn’t make it so. All sorts of people have used false identities for ages for all sorts of reasons.
Jesus called us to make disciples. We are to call people to repentance, but also to a life of change. We are to make pickles and the Holy Spirit is the solution.
Know that you are loved. – Pastor Marvin & Dawn
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
I was talking to someone the other day and they were telling me how they wonder sometimes about certain people’s walk with the Lord. They told me that they know these people love Jesus and have given their life to the Lord, but they have not seen any perceptible growth in their lives for decades. I thought that was pretty insightful because it was not judgmental in anyway.
Hebrews 5:12-14 - (AMP) – For though by this time you ought to be teachers [because of the time you have had to learn these truths], you actually need someone to teach you again the elementary principles of God’s word [from the beginning], and you have come to be continually in need of milk, not solid food. 13 For everyone who lives on milk is [doctrinally inexperienced and] unskilled in the word of righteousness since he is a spiritual infant. 14 But solid food is for the [spiritually] mature, whose senses are trained by practice to distinguish between what is morally good and what is evil.
Our theme for the year is Deeper, Higher, Wider, Further.
Maturity covers a lot of ground, There is Spiritual Maturity, there is Emotional Maturity, Relational Maturity and then there is walking in wisdom.
No one really holds a child at fault when a two- year- old has a fit when someone takes a toy or gets unreasonable when they need a nap. We realize that they are discovering and figuring life out. Children need the guidance of adults to help figure out well…. everything about life.
If a twenty-two-- year -old throws a fit when they do not get their way everyone cringes and loses respect because they know they should act more mature.
When a fifty-two- year -old loses their temper when someone doesn’t do what they want or because they are having a bad day, we know they have a major problem.
Spiritual maturity isn’t about age.
We all know somebody who is wise beyond their years. We also know people that look put together on the outside, but as we get to know them, we are trying to figure out how they get out of bed in the morning and tie their own shoes.
Those who are mature set an example for those who are not. They do so in the way they speak, in the way they act, in the way that they love, in spirit or in their attitude, in their faith and trust in God and in their moral purity.
As we grow and go deeper in our walk with God it will be reflected in our maturity.
Hebrews 6:1a (AMP) - Therefore let us get past the elementary stage in the teachings about the Christ, advancing on to maturity and perfection and spiritual completeness,
Colossians 1:28 (AMP) - We proclaim Him, warning and instructing everyone in all wisdom [that is, with comprehensive insight into the word and purposes of God], so that we may present every person complete in Christ [mature, fully trained, and perfect in Him—the Anointed].
An evidence of someone who is Spiritually Mature is that they live a disciplined life. The spiritually immature are not consistent in the disciplines that make you spiritually mature. Not everyone can hit home runs in the world series, but everyone can be a homerun Christian.
The difference in athletes who excel and those who don’t are their commitment to the fundamentals and to practicing and perfecting the things that keep them at the top of their game.
Those who are mature in Christ stay spiritually fit and in shape. They spend time in the Word, and they spend time with the Father.
1 Corinthians 9:27 - But [like a boxer] I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached [the gospel] to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified [as unfit for service].
It is easy to spot mature believers by the disciple they show in their lives. Disciplined people rarely have to be disciplined by others.
It is easy to spot someone who is familiar with God by the kind of prayers that they pray and the way that they pray.
Those who are mature are not timid about coming to God with needs. They are so filled with love for people that they are eager to take them to the answer for everything. Hebrews tells us that we are to come boldly before the throne of grace so that we can find mercy and help in our time of need.
Mature believers go before the Father with an expectation of a little child, never losing the thrill of seeing God do something in people’s lives.
You know someone’s maturity by the way that they speak.
1 Corinthians 13:11 – (AMP) When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
This is one of my favorite verses.
Here is a basic fact of life itself and a basic fact of life in the Spirit - The mature and the immature do not speak the same because they do not think the same or do life the same.
It is clear where you are in your walk with God by how you speak.
What is in our heart will be on our lips. You can only act and talk for so long until your lips will reveal what is really inside. Maturity and immaturity will always come out of us.
Mature people keep their word. Their yes is yes, and their no is no. The mature have learned to speak well. Their words are pure, truthful, honorable, tactful and most of the time insightful.
The mature understand that it is both what we say and how we say it that makes a difference.
Words matter, foul language, off color jokes even cutting sarcasm are things that the mature don’t just avoid it is not a part of their character.
I believe people when they say I could not help it I just had to say it. I’ve been there we all have. The difference is that the mature allow God to strengthen them and redeem the words so that what they say has value instead of being worthless and destructive.
Immature people regret a lot of what they say. The mature don’t.
Proverbs 20:11 (NLT) - Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right. Even Children are known by the way that they act.
I have found this new thing happening, where immature people have gotten in the habit of not doing the right things and when it is pointed out or corrected, they say – “don’t you judge me”.
Listen if we can tell, even when a child is young, which ones are not real swift, which ones are undisciplined and those who are a little slow on the learning scale, we will certainly notice it in adults.
Mature people get up, show up, put up, shut up (Don’t whine & complain), Speak up (When people need to hear), man up and glorify God in what it is they are doing.
As I talk with people one of the topics of conversation that I am finding more frequent is the lack of maturity in our culture. While it is certainly noticeable in our society in many ways this same trend has not escaped the church. It is interesting that the Apostle Paul had to address this same thing in His day. He was speaking to men and women that should have been filled with wisdom. They should be the leaders and teachers of their day, but they were still needing to be feed spiritual milk and cookies. Everyone loves milk and cookies. The mature understand that they are meant to be desert and not the main course.
I believe in our year of going Deeper, Higher, Wider and Further that God is challenging us to go deeper in maturity. Let’s dive in together.
Remember you are loved.
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
John 15:8 - By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Psalm 92:12-14 - The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,
It is important that we differentiate between producing fruit and bearing fruit. You see, God calls us to bear fruit not to produce fruit.
Producing – The result of our effort, work and artificial stimulation.
Bearing – The result of relationship and abiding in the vine.
Producing happens unnaturally and bearing happens naturally simply because we are abiding in the vine. Fruit is the outward evidence of an internal relationship. Fruit bearing is not about techniques, amounts and effort…
The yield of the harvest is all about yielding to His influence and allowing His life to flow through ours. The Bible says that out of our very belly, or the core of our being, would flow rivers of living water. God is looking for this kind of breakthrough understanding in our lives. It transforms everything.
The goal of our growth process as Christians is to bear fruit.
God is not as interested in what we do for Him as He is in our lives bearing spiritual fruit. Matthew 3:8 - Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.
Colossians 1:10 (AMP) - that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord [displaying admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity], to [fully] please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing in the knowledge of God [with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for His precepts];
A true Christian will live in a way naturally that bears fruit worthy of the repentance and the salvation they have received.
Fruit is our moral character, deeds and actions, our behavior, courage and a deep faith that grows with our knowledge of God. It is not just about the work we do but how we go about doing everything we do. For a long time, the church has put such an emphasis on doing and production that it wore people out. Now the pendulum has swung in the other direction and we tell people that a lack of fruit in their life is not a big deal. Just say you are a Christian - but there is no evidence of spiritual growth or fruit.
God expects fruit bearing. Just as any good parent expects their children to grow up and be moral, loving, caring people who actually do something worth-while with their life. This is not undue pressure it is the result of being a grown-up person and growing up should be a natural progression especially for a Christian who is abiding in Christ and for those filled with the Holy Spirit.
The secret to fruit bearing is to understand how the kingdom of God works. We spend a great deal of time talking about ‘Mustard Seed’ faith. All we need is the faith the size of a mustard seed.
Sometimes we spend so much time on the size of the seed that we miss the entire point being- the POTENTIAL in the seed.
The mustard seed is a small seed but out of it comes one of the largest yields. Small faith is the starting point, but that seed is going to grow into greater faith. While that seed is small it produces not just a bush but a tree. That tree produces more fruit and more seed and out of that seed comes more trees and more fruit and more seed.
The beauty of remaining and abiding in Christ is that our life and the lives of those we touch and reach with the gospel naturally have a perpetual harvest. Out of our abiding in Christ comes a constant, consistent flow of life and blessing. We don’t have to force it, produce it or “make it happen”. Fruit is the natural output of a life found in Christ.
God is doing a special work here at HCC. I am excited at what He will do in us and through us throughout the rest of the year.
You are Loved.
Pastor Marvin and Dawn
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Ephesians 6:13-14 - Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
Winston Churchill is famous for his commencement speech to his alma matter at the Harrow School for boys when he said, “never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never, -in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense”.
Vince Lombardi is famous for his quote – “Winners never quit.”
I have said many times that it is ok to think about quitting as long as you know you never will. Faithfulness is all about staying with a thing, a commitment or a person.
All of us face times of difficulty, discouragement and hardship. Many times, the difference between success and failure are those who quit and give up and those who don’t. There is a childhood saying, “quitters never win, and winners never quit”. Sometimes we just have to make the decision, emotionally and physically, to stay at it. You don’t have to fake it until you make it, you just have to keep at it. Marriage, child rearing, a dream, a goal in the workplace or the ministry God has called you to all require a determination to keep going through the good times and the difficult times.
True champions are finishers. Jesus is known as the Author and Finisher of our faith. When He died on the cross, He cried out the words of someone who kept at it- “It is Finished”.
Learn to stand when times are hard and difficult.
Hebrews 10:36 - For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
Those who have endured are those who have stayed with it until the end. Matthew 24:13 - But he who endures to the end shall be saved. While this verse applies to the end times it is also a great reminder for any situation.
James 1:3-4 (NLT) - For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Many times, when God allows you to endure His purpose is not so much in the destination as in what we are becoming. When your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. Having to endure helps us to realize our limitations, weakness and areas we need to develop and strengthen. What once used to feel unreachable and impossible now becomes the normal because our ability to endure has made us stronger.
Years ago, I ran across a poem entitled, “Don’t Quit”
When things go wrong as they sometimes will, when the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low, and the debts are high, and you want to smile but you have to sigh, when care is pressing you down a bit – rest if you must but don’t you quit.
Success is failure turned inside out, the silver tint of the clouds of doubt, and you never can tell how close you are, it may be near when it seems so far. So, stick to the fight when you are hardest hit, it’s when things go wrong that you must not quit.
Many of us are fighting some pretty big battles and are standing in faith. You are obeying what the Word says “when you have done all, to stand. Stand”. Look around. You are still standing in the strength and power of God and you are not alone. Just like Jesus, we are finishers! Our God is answering prayer. You have sown good seed and in due season you will reap a harvest.
You are Rooted and Fruitful! - You are Loved!
Pastor Marvin and Dawn
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Our key verses for 2020 are - Colossians 2:6-7 - As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Psalm 92:12-14 - The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,
John 15:16 - You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
In the past we have seen many so-called moves of God. They all ended quickly because they were not centered on Salvation and then maturity. (Discipleship) They planted seed. They gave the Word but there was no emphasis on Roots or Fruit. Many of these “moves of God” centered on gifts, being blessed, self-improvement and happiness. There were all kinds of manifestations but unless it produced a desire to know God, to live holy and to win souls it is all flesh. Jesus always related the harvest to souls.
Matthew 9:38 - Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
I believe that we are in for a season of an abundance of rain. God is going to strengthen our roots so that we will see much fruit.
It is important to understand that whenever God speaks of an outpouring it deals with the harvest. The work of the Holy Spirit always is focused on the harvest of souls.
God poured out the rain of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost to prepare the ground. The church has seen almost 2,000 years of sowing and growing. Many have been saved.
There are more people alive now on the earth than at any other point in history. There is a final harvest of souls that God is bringing into His Kingdom. James 5:7 - Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came in response to a prayer meeting. There are no short cuts and there are no secrets. We need to pray without ceasing and pray with an expectance until we see rain come. We need to pray until there is breakthrough.
James 5:16b-18 - The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Elijah prayed like he expected something to happen and for God to keep His Word, and so should we.
To have an abundance of rain there must be a hunger for it.
People who are not hungry can take or leave food. People who are not thirsty will go a long time without even thinking about water.
God promises to fill the hungry heart. Sometimes God allows drought and famine so we will crave again. True hunger reminds us that we cannot live long without food or water. When we say we are hungry for God we are saying that we realize that we cannot live without Him and His ways. Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
I want to ask you what do you hunger and thirst for?
I am proud to say that I serve a church that believes in prayer and in the power of God. Thank you for being a part of the work that God is doing here at HCC. Thank you for being a prayer warrior with a heart for souls and a love for your church. Get ready for an abundance of rain. You may want to start carrying your spiritual umbrella by faith.
You are dearly Loved
Pastor Marvin & Dawn.
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Psalm 43:5 - Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
When we lived in the Northwest, in Portland, OR and Walla Walla WA, I became aware of the term – Seasonal Affective Disorder. (SAD) The Northwest coast is known for its beauty, but it is also known for its rain. Many people do not realize that the Northwest corridor actually gets as much rain as a rain forest. It can be dark and gloomy during the rainy season for weeks on end; because of this, many people suffer from depression that is seasonal. The truth is that a great cure for this is some sunny days and time spent outdoors.
I have found that even people who do not suffer from clinical depression will have seasons of their life that are depressing. Even Godly, capable people will go through seasons of life where they are down and can’t seem to get out of the funk. There may be reasons for it like hardships, difficulties or a season when you are on the go so consistently that you do not have time to really rest.
For some, depression hits during the Christmas and Holiday season. They may be missing a loved one or dealing with the financial hardships and expectations of family or making everything perfect. Depression robs us of joy, steals our energy and can keep us from living a fulfilling and productive life. Some of what we are experiencing is spiritual, some of it is passed down through families and some of it is caused by the situations of life. Some depression is the result of our sinful choices and we are reaping the consequences emotionally.
With God’s help, we can deal with the SAD and make it through our season and out of the valley. Psalm 23:4 - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
One of Satan’s greatest tricks is to get us thinking that we are the only one that struggles with seasons of discouragement and depression. He will show us the perfect happy lives that everyone seems to be having all around you. Listen, everyone struggles at times. Everyone has hardships in life. The perfect life you think others have is only because you do not see the complete story of their lives.
It is estimated that one in eight men will have a severe battle with depression sometime in their life. It is estimated that one in three women will have to fight this battle. Women are twice as likely as men.
One thought on this is that women tend to “feel” their sadness and that men tend to “act” out their depression. Sometimes when men are depressed, they do not feel SAD, but they become irritable or angry. They may also immerse themselves in work or adrenaline activities.
Some “religious” people will tell you that if you struggle with depression then you must be involved in some kind of sin and God is punishing or withdrawing from you. Some will tell you if you had enough faith then you would pray more and suddenly just snap out of it. Others say if you had more faith you would live on the mountaintop and be victorious and never feel down. These are Job’s comforters and on behalf of all who have struggled we would like you to keep your unbiblical opinions to yourself! It is important to remember that we were not designed for the mountaintops. Most of our living is done in the valley. Valleys are where the fruit is. Sometimes valley’s get deep and overcast but the air on the mountain top can get mighty thin.
Someone said - “When you are working through depression, you do not lack faith. It is your faith that keeps you going. What you lack is hope.” People who regularly struggle with depression are very often holding tightly to God. When David was in his SAD season, he reminded himself to hope in God. Remember, faith is the substance of things hoped for. When you lack hope, remember that, as long as you have faith in God, you have the substance of what you are hoping for is made of.
Life is full of seasons. If you are always waiting for another season you are going to miss out on the blessing of the season you are in.
Learn to adapt and live in the season you are in. Make peace with the season – not the pain. Somehow, we think that Spiritual lessons just come. They just happen. No, they are learned. That is ok. Here is good news, you CAN learn how to do your season of SAD well. You may never just snap out of it any more than you can snap your fingers and change the weather. Learn how to make the most of the season. There is beauty - even in the SAD seasons. David learned how to do it and so can we!
May you and Your family have a very Merry Christmas
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
I love to teach and preach on the Holy Spirit. It is also one of the most humbling and fearful things I do as a preacher. You see, the Holy Spirit is a person. If I talk about Him incorrectly, I misrepresent who He is. If I just talk about Him to you it will come across as gossip as if He is not here with us.
As a person, the Holy Spirit has a personality, He has character (The Fruit of the Spirit), He has emotions and feelings, opinions, a will and desires. The Holy Spirit loves, He can be jealous, angry and kind. He goes where He wants to go and does what He will do. He is powerful like wind, refreshing like a rain and life giving, unyielding and terrain shaping like a river. He is also as gentle as a dove and as passionate as a flame of fire. He is not just the power of God, He is not just a force to be reckoned with, He is not just the anointing and equipping of God in the life of a Christian. He is a person. Do you know Him like that?
You can hurt a person. A person can be hurt intentionally or unintentionally. There are many ways that you can do that. One way we can hurt the Holy Spirit is by grieving Him. I’m sure you are like me in that you never set out purposefully to bring grief into any of your relationships. The modern idea of grief is to annoy someone, we are “causing them grief” or “giving them grief”; but that is not really grieving someone. I mean if you are intentionally setting out to annoy or grieve someone you really do not have a great relationship in the first place.
Grieved means to make sad or sorrowful, or to make a heart heavy or to disappoint. For some reason there is some big mystery surrounding what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit. The word grieve comes from a Greek word which denotes a pain or grief that can only be experienced between two people who deeply love each other. This word would normally be used to picture a husband or wife who has discovered that their spouse has been unfaithful. As a result of this unfaithfulness, the betrayed spouse is shocked, devastated, hurt, wounded, and grieved because of the pain that accompanies unfaithfulness or adultery.
This tells us, first of all, that the relationship that exists between us and the Holy Spirit is precious! The Holy Spirit is deeply in love with us. Just as someone in love thinks about, dreams of, and cherishes the one they love, the Holy Spirit longs for us, thinks about us, desires to be close to us, and wants to reveal Himself to us.
To grieve the Holy Spirit means that when He looks at our life of sin there is a sense of loss, of intense disappointment and betrayal, just as if someone had died. The Holy Spirit is the One who lives in us, leads us, guides us, teaches us, reminds us, comforts us, seals us, sanctifies us, empowers us, and works to produce the character of Christ in us. He has been sent to reveal the will of God, which is the mind of Christ and to give us the victory in Christ. But when we act like the world, talk like the world, behave like the world, and respond the same way the world does, we cause the Spirit of God to feel shock, hurt, and grief.
When we deliberately do what is wrong, we drag Him right into the mire of sin with us, because He lives in us and goes wherever we go.
Another way we can hurt the Holy Spirit its to quench Him. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 - Do not quench the Spirit. (AMP) - Do not quench [subdue, or be unresponsive to the working and guidance of] the [Holy] Spirit.
To quench means to: to extinguish, to suppress, stifle divine influence. You quench your thirst by drinking water and in this sense, this is a good thing, you can also quench a fire by pouring water on it. If the fire is out of control this is a good thing, if it is there for warmth or cooking this is not a good thing. Some people are afraid to let the Holy Spirit work through their lives or churches in supernatural ways. We quench the Holy Spirit when we resist allowing Him to move. We can also quench the Holy Spirit’s work in a church or in our life by refusing to recognize that God is a God of order and not chaos. He is the God of the controlled burn and not a wildfire.
A controlled burn can be raging, hot, glorious and powerful but, like the burning bush that Moses saw, it will consume us but not destroy us. When churches and individual believers are open to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, they will see the Glory of God.
One of the underlying principles of Harvest is that we desire to live in the presence of God and to live a life of relationship that results in the character of God in our lives and His power through our lives. The Holy Spirit is welcome here because He is God with us. May our lives never cause hurt to Him but always be a blessing and bring Him Glory.
You are dearly Loved
Pastor Marvin and Dawn