HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
1 John 2:15-17 - Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
I went to lunch with a good friend and we got to talking about the topic of vanity.
We were discussing about how vanity and pride is really at the heart of many of the struggles that we have in life. It is at the root of many of the spiritual failure that we see all around us.
Thank God for friends that you can have fun conversations with and thank God for friends that you can have deep conversations with.
This conversation was one of those profound moments when you take a good look at your own life and when you get a glimpse into the spiritual warfare that is hitting so many people in a profound way at this moment in society.
We were talking about a movie called – The Devil’s Advocate. It is not a good movie. I do not recommend it. But it does have a classic line that reveals a great deal about Satan and his tactics.
It is about a law firm that turns out to be run by the Devil. The main character defeats his boss in a trial but then a friend and a news reporter appeals to his ego after the win and convinces him to do an interview because he is a star. The guy agrees to it and the reporter morphs back into the devil who says -
– “Vanity, Definitely my favorite sin”
Vanity primarily refers to excessive pride in one’s own appearance, abilities, or achievements.
Excessive Pride as a (Personality Trait)
This is the most common usage, describing a person who is overly conceited or obsessed with how others perceive them.
Today people call the time we are living in the me generation.
Vanity also means - Worthlessness or Futility
Derived from the Latin vanitas (meaning "emptiness"), this definition refers to something that is valueless, pointless, or temporary.
In Vain: Related to the phrase "in vain," describing an effort that produces no result (e.g., "a vain attempt"). this definition refers to something that is valueless, pointless, or temporary.
Biblical Context: Often used in literature (like the book of Ecclesiastes) to describe earthly pursuits as "vapor" or "breath"—fleeting and ultimately empty compared to eternal things
The Bible relates it to chasing after the wind.
This issue of vanity highlights self-love, pride and ego.
It was pride and ego that were the undoing of Satan.
Satan is prideful, arrogant, narcissistic. Self-absorbed and self-aggrandizing.
Instead of focusing on God and others vanity is in love with everything self.
It is vanity and ego that are the most effective ways to corrupt and destroy people
Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
Pride was the undoing of Satan.
Isaiah 14:13-15 (NLT) - For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. 14 I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High. 15 Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.
We are never more like Satan when we are in the mode of self-promotion and self-exaltation.
I want to say it again. Pride and Vanity were the undoing of Satan. Satan will use Vanity to be the undoing of us.
2 Corinthians 2:11- lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
(NIV) -in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
(NLT) - so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.
Me must be aware of how Satan uses Vanity as a weapon against us and we must be self-aware and Spirit-aware in order to be honest without selves and God when Vanity is having an effect on us.
I think so much of what people battle today deals with this issue of being vain.
How we look, how successful that we feel and how we perceive that we are viewed by others.
Pride is a desire for adulation (the praise of people), riches or achievement.
It is a preoccupation with being noticed and respected.
It is a perception of being accepted by people and admired.
1 John 2:15-17 (NLT) - Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
So much that we do is ego driven. We live in an ego centric world.
Comparison – The desire for Greatness
– We talk about leaving a legacy.
Today people live their lives on social media – Look at me
We put our best foot forward
We often compare our ordinary to people’s best moments or their lies and misrepresentations.
Many of us are living in depression, discouragement and frustration because we are always trying to feed our vanity.
We are commanded not to love this world or the system that this world operates under.
For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.
And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
It is so important that as Children of God that we know what is of our Father and what is not.
Satan tells us that what the world has to offer and how it will make us feel and how it will make us look is all of God. Yet all of it is empty. None of it is from God.
It is worldly, fleshly.
But boy can we be vain.
And we are vain about the things that are temporary and not eternal.
Those who are vain have no real idea what the love of God is.
1 John 2:15 (NLT) - Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.
I hope this verse hits you like a ton of bricks.
When my children were growing up, we knew that their sense of worth that their idea of belonging and their idea of meaning would be developed deeply by how much they knew that they were loved by us as their parents.
Today Satan has attacked the family so intensely that at least two generations struggle with knowing that they are loved and accepted.
Satan has removed Fathers from so many homes that children are left searching for meaning and validation in everything else because the love of their earthly father is not in them.
This also has a powerful after effect. Because they were never truly loved by a father, they do not know how to love themselves or love others or even how to accept love from others.
The reason that everything else that the world has to offer feels so empty is because we are trying to fill our lives with things that will never satisfy; when only what God can fill us with will do that.
Many today have an emptiness inside that can only be filled with the Father’s love.
Let me put this in terms that you can understand. You cannot have two loves.
People who are in love with the idea of being in love and having more than one lover are not really in love. They are vain. They are selfish and all about themselves.
Love by its very definition is selfless.
Love serves.
Matthew 6:24 (AMP) - “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord].
But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
How do we know that the love of the Father and a love for the Father is in us? When we live to please Him.
1 John 5:3 - For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
The wisest man in all the world spoke about vanity. He spoke about how worthless the things that Satan uses to bring about our down fall are.
Vanity - (meaning "emptiness"), this definition refers to something that is valueless, pointless, or temporary.
The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life are all empty.
Solomon - a man who started out in wisdom tried to fill his life with everything that this world had to offer and found out how absolutely none of it could satisfy.
I heard someone say this quote – “I have heard it said that you could have $10 million and that it would never satisfy but I would sure like to try.
Well King Solomon did and he discovered that it didn’t.
Ecclesiastes 1:1- “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher;
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 1:1-4-(NLT) “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” 3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.
Ecclesiastes 2:4-9 - I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire! 9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me.
Ecclesiastes 2:17 - So, I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless (Vanity) —like chasing the wind.
Solomon did and had the things that most of us would be envious of and he discovered that it was all vanity. It was all meaningless.
The new Testament calls it wood, hay and stubble.
Solomon, I believe went to heaven but much of what he did with his life amounted to nothing.
1 Corinthians 3:12-15 (NLT) - Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
As a young man Solomon had a solid foundation but what he built on it was tragic.
It is amazing how many people live for vanity only to realize that it was really nothing.
Ecclesiastes 2:17 - So, I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless (Vanity) —like chasing the wind.
How many people come to hate the life that they had built.
They discover that it is like chasing the wind. It’s like a vapor or a breath.
It’s gone that quickly.
Most of us want to make a lasting difference with our life. They key is discovering what really matters.
First – it is to know that we are loved, accepted and cared for by Father God.
Second – Solomon actually came to his senses.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NLT) - That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Fear God, reverence Him. Live to please Him.
Seek first the Kingdom of God and HIS righteousness and ALL of these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:31-33(NLT) - 31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of Godabove all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
– “Vanity, Definitely my favorite sin” – A quote from Satan that will cause us to examine our hearts.
I hope this message challenged and refreshed you.
I pray that you will find victory over any vanity that you struggle with. May you find that God more than satisfies every desire and longing of your heart.
Know that you are loved.
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Seasons of Dormancy
Seasons of DormanHCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Genesis 8:22 - “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”
As God was speaking to me about this message, I kept hearing a phrase repeating in my spirit.
God created natural seasons. Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. In the natural they work for farming and fruit bearing. Rainy season, Growing season, Harvest Season and the Fallow season or the season of dormancy.
Each of these seasons are important and serve a significant purpose.
They are a natural cycle of God doing things in and through our lives.
God made the seasons. Every one of them including winter.
Our opening scriptures tell us that God made summer and winter. That as long as the earth remains there will be seedtime and harvest, winter and summer and day and night.
God made the winter season just as much as he made the summer and fall.
Psalm 74:17 - You have set all the borders of the earth; You have made summer and winter.
Winter is not a bad season… it is a necessary season just as surely as God created the day and night. Night time is not bad, it is a daily necessary thing.
We will go through winter seasons in our spiritual walk often. God worked it into His plan.
A season is not just a one - off it is an annual event.
Winter is a predictable thing. No matter where you live on earth there is a winter, however that looks like in the environment you are in.
Everyone has their favorite seasons. For some reason we are conditioned to think of the winter season unfavorably in the natural – unless of course you live in Florida.
In the spiritual people look unfavorably many times on their winter seasons. When it arrives, they act like something is wrong when in fact the season has arrived right on time.
I think somehow, we think that the season should be making adjustments to fit our lifestyle when in fact our lifestyle choices should be made to fit the season, we are in.
I like to wear shorts and tee shirts but up north during the winter time it just isn’t practical. There is nothing wrong with me or the season that I am in It just makes sense to dress for the season.
I believe that there are some things we can learn about the predictable winter seasons of our lives.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 - To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
You may be in a season of dormancy in your life right now. Where things seem cold, barren and on the surface they look dead.
All of us go through these seasons. Listen to me – you are in a season of dormancy not death. This season has a purpose. It may not look like much is happening but there is a lot going on.
There are several purposes in the dormant seasons of life.
A winter season is a time of rest.
A time of rest is just as important as a time of productivity.
Can I say that louder for those in the back row.
When it comes to farming, winter is a season of rest for the farmer the family and for the ground.
It is an extended period to - just be.
Dormancy requires us to DO less and to just BE more. – Just Be.
~ Lee Warren – Dormancy isn’t just rest, but quiet renewal, letting life slow down long enough to rediscover what makes it sweet.
There is a lot of dark in the winter. The darkness is not the complete absence of light it is the needed amount of light to produce rest.
Just as we need a significant portion of our twenty – four-hour day = ideally a full seven hours for rest— winter is a significant extended season for us to spiritually rest in the Lord.
Rest is not just sleep it is a reset. It allows what is producing to have time to stop giving and to simply start receiving.
I love the saying that you cannot pour from an empty cup.
To those who like to produce, winter can be a frustrating time because no matter how hard you would like to be growing and producing you cannot no matter how you try to force it because the climate, the atmosphere and the conditions are not right for it. It is winter.
Someone needs to hear this - There is nothing wrong with the land. There is nothing wrong - It is the season you are in.
Adjust your expectations to the season. Be realistic. This isn’t unspiritual as a matter of fact it just might be the most faith-filled thing that you do. When winter comes around just do what you are to do in winter.
Remember that there is a difference between dead and dormant.
Don’t confuse the two. A farmer’s field looks dead during the winter, but it is not. It is simply resting. The potential is still there but only if it rests and resets.
Proverbs 13:23 (AMP) - Abundant food is in the fallow (uncultivated) ground of the poor,
Spiritual winter seasons do not mean that you are dead. You can still be as healthy as can be.
The truth is that you will only be as healthy as the time you allow yourself to rest in the Lord.
All of us need spiritual and natural Sabbath rests.
The Bible tells us that the sabbath was a holy day. A time intentionally set apart for God. Remember that God set the Sabbath day just as surely as He set the seasons.
~ God uses the stillness the dormant season to provide necessary rest. We need to see this as a season of obedience rather than a season of laziness.
The Dormant season is a season of growth and strength.
Outwardly it may seem like nothing is happening.
It is under the surface in times of winter where roots grow deeper, faith is strengthened and character is developed.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NLT) - Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines, even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! 19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.
It is in the winter seasons that you learn that true worship of God is not tied to production for God. It is where we learn to cherish our salvation.
It is where God makes your faith sure in order to do well when God takes you to the highs of life.
Dormancy isn’t a season of weakness it is a season of gaining strength.
Winter is a time for growth that isn’t seen.
Invisible activity is still going on. It is not meant to be observed by others it is a season where God does His work in privacy away from the opinion and measurement of others.
If you are worried about appearances and production, then you probably have a difficult time with winter. – You need to understand that winter isn’t about that.
I often hear about people who comment about how bad the trees and ground look during the winter time up north.
They say that the trees look bare, and the ground looks hard and dead.
It is during the winter that appearances are deceiving.
The trees aren’t dead they are growing underground.
Before the trees hit the growth spurt of spring and the tree expands it must first grow just as deep under the surface. Without the strong roots the tree would topple over or not have the needed stability for the growth that is about to happen.
If the root system doesn’t grow to support the branches the tree either will not be able to stand or will have only enough nourishment for leaves and not enough for fruit.
Remember that in the spirit, God did not just call us to look good but to bear fruit.
If you will remember – Jesus actually cursed a tree that looked good but was not bearing fruit in fruit bearing season.
John 15:16 (AMP) - You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you.
In the winter there appears to be no life. The surface is dormant, but the root system is thriving. Winter reminds us to be deeper than what things look like. It also keeps you from being prideful during the harvest.
Isaiah 37:31 - And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward.
Notice that downward growth – rooted growth - always comes before upward fruitful growth.
Everyone loves the fruits, but you always need a season to focus on the roots. No one else but you and God get to see that and THAT is ok.
The quality of the fruit will always be determined by the quality of the roots.
What season are you in. I find it interesting that God would have me address the winter season in the midst of our sweltering Florida summer. May be it is my wishful thinking for some cool air.
Whatever season you find yourself in today. Know that you are loved by God and that you are being developed to produce incredible fruit in and through your life.
Know that you are loved.
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Image by snibl111 from Pixabay
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Mark 15:42-47 (NLT) - This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.) 44 Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet. 45 The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. 46 Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. Then he took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.
One of the most overlooked parts of the Easter story is Saturday.
We focus a great deal of attention on Friday and the Crucifixion- with good reason.
We focus a great deal on Sunday and the Resurrection, with good reason.
Very little is said publicly or in the Bible about what Jesus was doing on Saturday.
Saturday was the day In-Between – It is known as Silent Saturday.
~ Max Lucado - God made himself heard on Friday. He tore the curtains of the temple, opened the graves of the dead, rocked the earth, blocked the sun of the sky, and sacrificed the Son of Heaven. Earth heard much of God on Friday.
Nothing on Saturday. Jesus is silent. God is silent. Saturday is silent.
Remember that just before Jesus died, He declared – It is Finished!
The work of Salvation and redemption had been completed.
Just as God rested when He had finished creation Jesus rested from the finished work of the cross.
Saturday is the day after the cross, but before the resurrection. The day when everything feels silent.
The Pharisees were busy sealing the tomb. The Soldiers were busy guarding the tomb; but Jesus was silent. He was resting. He descended into Sheol to set those who had followed Him free.
Ephesians 4:10 (NLT) - And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
Christ descended from Heaven and became a man. God gave His one and only son to bring us life through His death and resurrection.
Saturday was the day when everything fell silent, it seemed like all hope was gone. It was the day when the people who loved Jesus were left grieving, waiting, wondering if any of His promises were true.
The work that Jesus did on Friday and Sunday was important but just as important was the work that Silent Saturday was doing in His disciples.
Just because it felt hopeless didn’t mean that hope was gone.
God was still working.
While the disciples were weeping, while the world thought that it had won, God was preparing for resurrection.
There is incredible value in the Silent times in our life. While we are called to do, we are also called to be still.
The older I get the more I really like quiet. We all need quiet we all require quiet.
We all need the quiet that allows us to rejuvenate and the type of quiet that allows us to contemplate.
The disciples in the Silence of that Saturday; that Sabbath – were remembering all that Jesus had taught them.
We need quiet to think and to comprehend.
Silent Saturday gives us a time of quiet to really think about all that Jesus work on the cross was about. What His sacrifice really meant.
Quiet is important. As a matter of fact, I have found that in the car I will actually turn down the radio so that I can think and concentrate and focus better.
In stillness there is more focus and greater clarity.
We live in a very noisy society. We always have things that always keep us on – Phones, TV’s, Radios.
Very few people really know how to just sit in silence and stillness.
Many of us have forgotten how to sit in the presence of the Lord and just be silent and just be still. To not talk.
Too often we confuse praying with doing and saying but being in the presence of the Lord also just involves silence.
Silence allows us to really hear what is being said. You really get to know someone in the silent times.
Just because it is quiet doesn’t mean that nothing is happening.
The greatest power moves of God often happen in the silence.
Sometimes in the silence the more serious things are.
I found as a parent that silence was golden in three very powerful ways:
One - just sitting together in the quiet could be very bonding. Some of our best times were when the kids were little and they would just snuggle.
Two – when I was disciplining the kids I found early on that I didn’t need to raise my voice. They discovered that the quieter I became the quicker they better listen.
Third – There were times that people were messing with my children that I would just step in and didn’t need to say much. It was understood that you don’t touch my kids.
On Saturday Jesus was silent– He had said all that needed said on Friday. The message was already sent.
I have found that many times Jesus is silent because He is allowing us to just talk.
There are times, I think, we misunderstand the silence of the Lord. It’s not that He is silent, it is that He is listening. When we talk to God we wind up working many things out while He listens. He speaks without saying a word.
God doesn’t always try to fill the silence. He didn’t on Saturday. It was time to rest.
Quiet is necessary for our peace of mind, it is necessary to think about things and through things. It is necessary to contemplate. It is necessary for rest.
We need to learn to become comfortable with the silence.
God is able to do powerful things in silence.
If you read the Word of God closely you will be surprised to find out how much Salvation and Stillness go hand in hand.
I think that many times we miss out on what God is doing because we don’t get still and silent to notice what God is doing.
Stillness is where we can take in the beauty.
Stillness is where we are able to process life.
Stillness is where we are able to really take in and observe all that God is doing in all of His glory.
We find God, not in the midst of the intensity and busyness, but in the stillness.
I have found that God works through seasons. Including seasons of silence.
Ecclesiastes 3:7 - a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
Seasons of quiet, Seasons of waiting, seasons of stillness.
Silent Saturday was just important as Crucifixion Friday and Resurrection Sunday.
Silent Saturdays. We all have those seasons.
The day between the struggle and the solution; the question and the answer; the offered prayer and the answer of the prayer.
Saturday’s silence is hard. Is God angry? Did I disappoint him?
God knows Jesus is in the tomb, why doesn’t He do something?
Or, in our situations -- God knows our career is struggling, our kids are hurting, our finances are in the pit, our marriage is in a mess.
Why doesn’t He act? What are you supposed to do until He does?
You do what Jesus did. Lie still. Stay silent. Trust God.
After the crucifixion there was a much-needed stillness, after the stillness there is Resurrection!
May you and your Family be filled with the Blessing of the Lord. Know that you are Loved and may you have a wonderful Resurrection Season!
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Image by Matthias Groeneveld from Pixabay