HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Ezekiel 37:1-14 - The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed, they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So, I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. 9 Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’”
~ The Church doesn’t need bigger programs. We need the breath of God.
This is one of the messages I remember most from my Childhood. I can see my Pastor – Robert Owen standing there talking about the Valley of the Dry bones. I can still hear him today in His Welsh accent saying – Son of man can these Dry Bones live? Prophecy to the bones – Oh Dry Bones hear the word of the Lord – surly I will cause breath to come into you and you SHALL live!
This portion of scripture is a profound prophecy. It speaks of the rise of Israel as a nation coming out of captivity in Babylon. In AD 70 Israel was scattered again throughout the world and again God raised this nation back within the borders established in the Bible in 1948. This has not happened to any nation or peoples except the Jewish people and the nation state of Israel.
This prophetic vision is also a foreshadowing of the Salvation that Jesus Christ would bring to all of mankind.
Ephesians 2:4-5 - But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
The valley of dry bones is a prophecy concerning our spiritual resurrection.
It is the promise that God would breathe new life into us.
John 11:25 - Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
The Dry Bones are all about hope.
Those were the bones of people who were dead. They were not sort of dead, they were not mostly dead they were dead, dead.
Hope is a powerful word. If you don’t believe it, just try to live without it.
As Christians we are hopeful and hope-filled people.
The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Hope of the World. – He is.
~ Hope is a very personal thing.
Each of those skeletons was a person. They had families, dreams, plans and a life. Each of them had fresh life breathed into them. – That is as personal as it gets.
I want to remind you that the spiritual things of God will have deep personal significance to each of us.
God asked Ezekiel – Can these bones live? Remember, Ezekiel said that the bones were very dry. They were long dead. Bleached white in the sun.
Being the deeply prophetic and spiritual man that he was Ezekiel said, “Lord only you know the answer to that”.
All of us at one point or another in our walk with God are going to have to answer questions that the Lord asks us.
Now, we can be religious or we can be honest.
All of us are going to face things that are deader than dead and that is when we are going to have to really deal with what we truly believe about God.
This is the entire reason Jesus waited four days to raise up Lazarus from the dead. According to Jewish law and the law of decay- he was dead enough to start decomposing. That did not stop Jesus from calling out – Lazarus come forth out of that tomb. – This is why the disciples had to be the ones to roll away the stone and not Jesus. They had to get involved in the learning.
They didn’t have enough faith to call out the dead but they did have the faith to obey a simple command.
~ The Valley of the Dry bones gives us practical instruction on dealing with the dead things in our lives.
Before God will breathe life into our situations, He must first breathe life into us.
He does that by speaking life into us. Before you and I can prophesy and speak life into people and situations God must breathe life into us.
How does He do that? By His Word. The dead things in our life have a way of taking the life out of us. We lose our enthusiasm, inspiration, and vision.
Anyone who is successful in any endeavor cannot continue effectively if they have no heart for it.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The Word inspired means God Breathed. Whenever the breath of God is mentioned in the Bible life quickly follows.
It is God’s Word that literally breathes new life into us.
In Genesis God literally breathed life into mankind. He gave breath to Adam.
Genisis 2:7 - And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Man became a living being. This is more than God causing a body to have oxygen.
God literally breathed the Spirit into man. We are body, soul and spirit. We don’t simply live because we can breathe. We breath because we have life.
Acts 17:28 (AMP) - For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’
In the beginning God gave us our spirit.
Remember Jesus gave this promise to His disciples.
John 20:19-23 - Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Church, we need Jesus to breathe the New Life of the Holy Spirit into us.
This is the difference maker.
Before the Power there must first be breath. To feel the breath, one must be close.
People say that the church of America is dead. I don’t believe that because the church is made of people who are alive.
What we need is the Breath of the Holy Spirit. If our nation is going to have a revival it will begin with the Breath of the Holy Spirit in the Church. In God’s people.
Jesus breathe on us!
Once God’s Word is in us, we must declare His Word into the situation.
In Matthew God told His disciples to speak to the mountain. This means that we must address the situation. We must deal with it God’s way.
Ezekiel 37:4 - Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!
(NLT) - Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord!
All too often we talk to ourselves. We speak to others but we don’t talk to the Lord and speak to our situation.
We talk to dead things all the time. – our job, hurtful people. – We need to speak life by declaring the Word of God.
We must prophecy or speak God’s Word over our situation.
When we are saved, we confess our sin and proclaim our belief in the resurrection.
Remember we were dead in our trespasses and in our sin.
It is Jesus’ resurrection that speaks to our resurrection Spiritually and in the future naturally.
God can literally raise us from death to Ife.
It is God’s nature to be a life giver.
Someone said that it is better to light a candle than to curse the dark.
We need to stop cursing our situation… it is already dead.
God’s Word is life and light – declare that. Speak that.
God told Ezekiel to speak to the bones.
The bones are what’s left of the situation. Bones are not nothing they are the skeleton of a body and they are the framework for a miracle.
We need to stop saying that the bones are nothing. They are substance.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
All you need is a mustard seed to have enough faith. Ezekiel had bones.
After you speak to the bones realize that there will be a season of things coming together.
Things will need to flesh out.
Ezekiel 37:7-9 (NLT) - So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. 8 Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.
When God restores life to things we desire an immediate response.
Restoration in the Greek, carries with it the connotation of a bone being set in place and then taking time to heal.
Miracles are instantaneous. Healing many times is progressive.
Being set in place and healing many times is a process that takes time depending on the damage, the amount of deadness and the nature of the healing.
Remember that Ezekiel was watching a reverse autopsy.
New Life isn’t always pretty. If you have seen a baby born you know what I mean.
It is beautiful and messy all at the same time.
Once things come together, they still need one more thing… the breath of God.
The new bodies that Ezekiel saw were nice but they were still dead.
A lot of people celebrate when things start coming together. But… there is still no life.
Ezekiel 37:9-10 - Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
It is the breath of God that resuscitates situations and that breaths new life into us.
Nothing stands if it doesn’t have life in it…. Unless you prop it up artificially. This is what is happening in a great deal of the churches around the world. They have a form of Godliness but no power. They have a reputation of being alive but they are dead. They look life-like but there is no breath of God!
Listen a car without gas isn’t going anywhere. A church without the Spirit of God isn’t going anywhere.
Ezekiel 37:14 - I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.”
For years Israel was unsettled as a people, scattered among the nations of the world.
Today they are back in the land that Ezekiel prophesied about.
God wants to more than just settle you… He wants you to live and thrive in what He has for you.
He wants us as a nation to have His Spirit in us.
Can these bones live…Yes, they can.
Spirit of God come breath fresh on us today. Breath fresh on this church today.
May you and your family know the full, life-giving blessing of God.
Know that you are loved,
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
2 Timothy 3:13 - But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
The Bible tells us that Satan is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:44–45 (AMP) - You are of your father the devil, and it is your will to practice the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar and the father of lies and half-truths. 45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me [and continue in your unbelief].
Satan is the exact opposite of Jesus.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Right now, we all have a sense that we are being lied to about everything.
It is hard to trust almost anything that anyone says.
You and I are being lied to on a regular basis. In fact, our entire culture is riddled with deception.
We have governmental agencies like the (Food and Drug Administration) to oversee the ridiculous claims made by advertisers and retailers.
We have social media claiming to “monitor the truth” in our news so that we are not lied to as they manipulate what they want us to see and hear.
Our Government opened and closed what it called an office of truth that was so close to the Nazi’s ministry of truth that it could not hold up to the back lash it was so obviously wrong.
The Bible tells us that in the last days people lying and deceiving will grow worse and worse. That people will be deceiving others and being deceived themselves.
We are in those times.
The Bible tells us that in the last days even the very elect or God’s Chosen ones will be deceived if it is possible.
Matthew 24:24 - For false Christ’s and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
That is a powerful statement. If possible. – The truth is that those who are walking in the Holy Spirit will have discernment. Most of God’s elect won’t be fooled. They will be lied to but will be able to see through the lies.
But some who are not paying attention and some who just don’t really want to know will be deceived.
Satan uses every sort of duplicity to lead people away from Truth and into the tangled and confusing realm of Deception. Truth has been outrageously violated in every area of society.
Deception is when you are lied to and you believe it.
Some other words that describe it – Misinformation, disinformation exaggeration, subterfuge, sleight of hand, fake news, distraction, counterfeit, camouflage.
2 Corinthians 11:14 - And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
The word deception could be defined as communication or behavior that is meant to leave others with a false impression.
Here are some ways that deception is being sown in our culture today:
• Disinformation: deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda.”
• Doublespeak: evasive, ambiguous language that is intended to deceive or confuse.
• Duplicity: deceitfulness in speech or conduct, as by speaking or acting in two different ways to different people concerning the same matter; double-dealing.
• Fabrication: to make up a story or facts for the purpose of deception.
• Falsehood: Contrary to fact or truth.
• Fraud: deceit [or] trickery… perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.
• Half-truth: a statement that fails to divulge the whole truth… or using a portion of truthful information to make a lie seem more trustworthy.
• Hypocrisy: a concealment of one’s real character or motives… a deceitful show of a good character, in morals or religion; a counterfeiting of religion.” Actor – To pretend to be something or someone that you are not.
• Lie: a falsehood uttered for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth.
• Scam: a confidence game or other fraudulent scheme, especially for making a quick profit; swindle.
• Subterfuge: a cleverly disguised way or strategy used to evade a rule, escape a consequence, hide something. Deceit used in order to achieve one's goal.
Deception has become a part of our culture.
2 Timothy 3:7 - always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Lying has become so common place that we almost expect it and are shocked when people are actually honest.
Lying has become ubiquitous in our culture. We expect that every time a politician opens their mouth that they are lying.
When news is dispensed, we are confident that it is no longer being reported accurately but with the slant and stats manipulated to make them say what they want us to hear so that we will believe what they think is best.
Law has become so nuanced that no one really understands what a lawyer is saying except other lawyers.
The disciples asked Jesus what would be the sign of His coming and the end of the world and the first thing He told them was deception.
Matthew 24:3-5 - Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
Jesus gave many signs, but the first sign Jesus told them about contained a clear warning of a wide-scale deception that would emerge in the last part of the last days — and the need for people to prepare and guard against it. Jesus said, “…Take heed that no man deceives you.”
Take Heed – Pay attention, Live with your eyes wide open, have your Spirit in step with the Spirit of God. – Be decerning.
The word “deceive” is used to depict this period when it will look as if delusion is taking over the world.
It is the Greek word which means to lead astray or to wander off course. This word “deceive” could depict a single individual who has wandered far off course, or it could describe a whole nation or nations that have morally veered from the position once held to be true.
That describes today. – In many ways our world is delusional.
~ Someone said – “Human beings are willing to believe anything, as long as it caters to what they want.”
Satan understands this and has developed philosophies, religions and belief systems that sound so reasonable that they keep us from God because they tell us exactly what we want to hear.
2 Timothy 4:3 (AMP) - For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold,
We often think this just means religious teachers and pastors. This goes far beyond that. This includes actual educators (Children and Collegiate), entertainers and so-called experts.
~ Rick Renner – People in the last days will become supernaturally hoodwinked — that is, they will be ensnared by an unparalleled period of deception on every front. This period of deceitfulness will be so intense that people will believe what is false over what is obviously true, even denying facts and truths that are common sense and that nature itself teaches. It will mark a time when wrong belief and delusion will pervade every realm of society. This is the clear teaching of prophetic Scripture about developments that will occur at the conclusion of this age.
I believe that Christians should be the most discerning, wise and aware people in the world.
Why? Because we are people of the Word and people of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Wisdom and discernment.
If anyone can spot and know the difference between the truth and a lie it will be a Christian who walks in the Spirit and who lives by Faith.
This month we are going to unpack this in a big way.
Continue to walk and live in the Truth. You will be of those who know the difference and do not walk in description, Spiritual or otherwise.
Remember you are dearly Loved,
Pastor Marvin and Dawn
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
2 Timothy 3:1 - But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
(AMP) But understand this, that in the last days dangerous times [of great stress and trouble] will come [difficult days that will be hard to bear].
(NIV) But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
While God promises us peace and safety; the Bible also warns us that in the last days dangerous, difficult, and even terrible times will come.
While there are many people that condemned the Apostle Paul from warning the early Christians that they were going to have hard and even dangerous times, he never shied away from preaching the truth.
Today the world is much the same way; people want to be told how beautiful and perfect everything will be. Instead of preparing believers for the difficult times that are ahead we are teaching them to live their best life. We have surrounded ourselves with peddlers of a painless Christianity instead of prophets and pastors who will warn of the consequences of sin and the difficulties in society and the world that will precede the coming of the Lord.
In many parts of Christianity, we are raising up soft believers who know nothing of living by faith and trusting God.
Understand - because of the sin that is in the world we are reaping a harvest of violence, selfishness, corruption, and wickedness. We have seen this before in the world. Remember there is nothing new under the sun.
The wickedness of Noah’s day and in the days of lot are very similar to our time. The danger and persecution that the early Christians faced under the Romans is very similar to what many believers are facing in China, Iran, North Korea, and India now.
The Bible warns us that in the last days Dangerous, terrible times will come.
The danger zone is a place that separates the men from the boys and the women of God from the little girls.
There are some different ways that people respond to the danger zone.
In the movie Top Gun, they talked about the danger zone, but they talk about the rush of combat the almost passing out from the G-forces at work as they fly in combat. There are those that love the adrenaline rush of all of it. They live for that moment, it’s all that they can think about. These types of people are adrenalin junkies that are a danger to themselves and to others in the times of danger because they are all about the thrill. As a matter of fact, they are destructive in their personal lives because they are bored without the speed, pace, danger and need for quick and immediate decisions.
Then there are those that thrive in the danger zone.
These are those who in the dangerous times are mature. They are able to deal with the rush, the emotions, the fear, and the thrill so that they are able to make good decisions that help others and preserve themselves. In the middle of the danger, they are able to discern God’s will and fight the enemy and win.
Hebrews 5:13-14 - For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
While it is true that difficult and terrible times are coming, I believe that God is raising up people who are skillful, equipped, and ready for those times.
To be ready for those times we must be fueled up by feeding our spirit.
2 Timothy 3:14-15 - But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
In times of trouble, we must keep the main thing. The main thing.
Our source of strength never changes. It is from the well of the Word of God that we will continue to derive our strength in difficult times.
Paul said to Timothy you have learned and studied the scriptures since Childhood. Your daily devotions, what you have been doing for years you must continue to do.
If we can’t do regular life on empty, we certainly can’t do difficult times on empty.
Listen in order to thrive in the danger zone we need to be filled.
Psalm 119:92 - Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction.
When pilots are in the danger zone, they can get all messed up. They can start to believe that up is down and down is up. – This is when they must depend on their gages and understand certain laws that are pressing on their life and working either against them or for them.
This is why continually being in His Word is vital it helps us to know what’s going on and what to do next and what to do about it.
Those who thrive in the danger zone are skilled in the Word.
It seems like life right now is making massive withdrawals. It is asking more of us then we really have to give.
You and I were never designed to run on empty.
My Friend, I know you are looking at the world and can see it is a dangerous place. I want to remind you that the Bible says that in this world you will have trouble but TAKE heart I HAVE overcome the world. THERE is HOPE!
I am looking forward to sharing this important message with you.
Be encouraged and expectant. Remember, be thankful this November for all of the blessings and promises we have in the Lord.
May you and your Family have a very Happy Thanksgiving month.
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Proverbs 10:12 - Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.
~ Martin Luther King JR. – Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
1 John 3:15 - Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
1 John 4:19-20 - We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.
For many people what is shocking, and disheartening is the rudeness, lack of courtesy, violence, general disinterests in kindness and basic morality and a lack of civility in our conversations.
It should not come as a surprise that a nation that has killed over 63 million babies through abortion since 1973 is now seeing people walk into schools and shopping malls and murdering our children. Many of these shootings are done by other children and teenagers or those in their early 20’s.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NLT) - You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.
4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
What a list!
This describes people today. What sticks out to me the most is that people are self-absorbed, prideful, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God and they consider NOTHING sacred or holy.
The last days will be marked by people who love things, ideas, and certain ideologies but they do not really care for people, especially those who are different than them or who do not agree with them.
We see this in the world among people who do not know Jesus.
Unfortunately, we are seeing this even among the people of God.
As Christians we are going to have to deal with hate and understand what the Bible says about hate.
The Bible tells us that hate stirs up all kinds of trouble and problems. – We see this all around us.
It also tells us that you can’t claim to love God and hate other people. You can dislike people and what they do but we are not to hate them.
Hate is not a new thing that we are dealing with.
Jesus spoke about love to a religious world that valued rules more than it valued relationships.
When Jesus confronted the religious people of His day about their hypocrisy, they hated Him for it and tried to kill Him. They eventually had Him crucified.
Today we are told that we are to hate sin and to love the sinner, yet very few of us get this correct. Much of the time we wind up hating the person instead of helping a person deal with their sin in love.
Hate is what happens when there is a vacuum of love.
What starts out as righteous indignation turns into judgment that causes us to be the jury and the executioner.
Hate feeds off itself. – It will eat you alive. It will begin to consume every thought, action and words.
Someone who was once positive, loving understanding and compassionate about the lost is now angry, suspicious of everyone and everything and poisons even good relationships and conversations.
Hate is nothing new. Cain grew Jealous of Able and hated him. This led to the first murder.
The Bible says that whoever hates a brother, or a sister is a murderer.
That is a powerful statement. Hate at its highest point will lead to physical murder. But hate truly believes that the world would be a better place without certain kinds of people in it.
Now understand the Bible does recommend the death penalty for crimes like rape, incest, and murder. – This is not what we are talking about. That is a cry for justice.
Hate – To despise, intense dislike, to detest, loathe, abhor, to shrink back in horror. To find nothing good in. It is placing no value at all in someone or something.
I find it necessary to remind people that the opposite of love is not hate it is selfishness.
The opposite of hate is worship. –
To worship - is to adore, cherish, be drawn to, to honor and reverence. It is devotion, commitment and loyalty. It is to put someone in the highest place in our life.
The reality is that we live in a world where we must coexist with evil.
People believe and do unspeakably evil and wicked things.
We will be called to speak the truth.
We are called to compassionately help those impacted by this evil.
We are to be light in the darkness.
When we are confronted with hatred, we must continue to do good and to speak the truth in love.
Romans 12:21 - Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.
We are to overflow with Good words, good fruit and good deeds.
Many Christians are being overcome with the same spirit that is in the world.
We must remember that – GREATER is HE that is in us than he that is in the world.
As Christians we are overcomers. We are not to be overcome and overwhelmed with hate. We are called to overwhelm hate with Good.
By responding and living like Christ we don’t add to the problems, we disarm principalities and powers. This includes Satan’s weapon of hate. To win the world to Jesus we can’t fight battles the same way they do with the same weapons and think we will win.
Our weapons to defeat hatred are not carnal fleshly, feel-good things, they are mighty for pulling down the strongholds in people and in society.
Hear me – Hatred is a stronghold. – Make no mistake about it. But it is only a stronghold where it is permitted.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 - For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
I love this… We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
Teaching happens through our words AND our example.
You can’t do that if you try to fight hate with hate. - You do that with truth, love and compassion and an unyielding commitment to holiness both – personal holiness and holiness in thought and belief.
We must respond to hate by making sure we do not give more attention to the hate than we do the harvest.
Ultimately it is God’s job to take care of the evil in the world.
Matthew 13:24-30 - Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
In the process of trying to tear up what is bad many well-meaning Christians have uprooted and hurt many good people. That looked like weeds but were actually full of Good fruit.
Sometimes wheat and weeds look a lot alike in the early and developing stages.
I want to remind you that the majority of our time is not to be spent dealing with the weeds but to be nourishing the seeds and cultivating a harvest of good things.
The enemy is all about destruction and he wants to get us in on the process. God is all about life.
I love the response – let them grow and we will sort it all out at the end.
This is great wisdom. Dealing with Hate.
Know that You are dearly loved,
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
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