HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Happy December and Merry Christmas!
Luke 2:25-29 (NLT) - At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So, when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.
One of the most untold stories of Christmas is what happened forty days after the birth of Jesus. This was when Joseph and Mary went to the Temple with Jesus for the ceremony of purification and dedication and had an encounter with Simeon.
The Christmas story is about real people living real life who are serving a very real God. The stories we read in the Bible are perfect for life today because these people were living everyday life just as we are.
temple when he did.
I don’t want you to miss this. – Simeon was able to walk into a very precious moment with God, simply because he lived each day led by the Spirit of God. –
Don’t miss this. – It is when we walk everyday with the Spirit of God that we are led into extraordinary moments with God.
I want you to notice I said walk not stumble. Those who walk with God don’t stumble into things accidentally they are led there intentionally by the Spirit.
One of the Great Lessons we learn from this story is that being Led by the Holy Spirit isn’t really all that difficult.
Notice that everyone in this story was where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there.
Mary and Joseph- They came to Jerusalem 40 days after the birth of Jesus to dedicate him.
Luke 2:21-24 -And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
Simeon
Luke 2:27 - So he came by the Spirit into the temple.
Simeon was led at just the perfect moment by the Spirit of God into the Temple.
All of them were just doing what they should be doing.
Being in the will of God is not a matter of luck it is a matter of obedience.
Everyone was doing what God called them to be doing at that point in their lives. This obedience brought everyone together in the same place at the same time.
We get so afraid sometimes about missing the promises of God. Listen the Holy Spirit will lead you right into it.
When you don’t know what you should be doing just do what you should be doing.
I love the saying “If you aren’t doing what you should be doing then you are going to get the very things you don’t want”.
Encounters with the Holy Spirt are commonplace when you learn how to listen and are led by the Spirit of God.
Those who are filled with the Spirit of God are being led even when they don’t realize THAT they are being led.
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Someone needs to get this – If we are not leaning on our own understanding then that means that we are going to be led in ways that we don’t make sense to us. What we are doing is taking each step, in faith knowing that God knows what He is doing.
When you are Spirit led you will never suffer from FOMO.
FOMO – Fear of Missing Out.
I want you to hear me - if you will be filled with the Spirit, you will be led by the Spirit. If you are led by the Spirit, you will not miss God and you will not miss out on His promises.
Over the years I have met people that are afraid that somehow, they will miss out on what God has for them.
Hear me – If you are living for God – you will not.
Being filled with the Spirit is not just about walking in His power but it is also about walking in His timing. He will lead you where you need to be at the very moment you need to be there.
To many times we over think things. Our obedience and God’s timing will always intersect when it should. This is the essence of being Spirit Led.
Simeon allowed the Holy Spirit to work in His life and because he did God allowed him to be a part of something truly amazing.
Simeon reminds us that we can wait with expectancy when God gives us a promise.
Scripture says that Simeon was eagerly waiting for the consolation of Israel.
It does not say that he was impatiently waiting but that as he went about his days, he did it with hope and expectancy, looking to see when God would keep his promise.
He wasn’t anxious about God’s promise, his impatience didn’t leave him weighed down a heaviness.
Expectancy – The act or action of living with the knowledge that something will happen. Hope that is certain and steadfast. The feeling that something exciting and positive is going to happen. Anticipation that comes with a promise. It is knowing that God is good and will always keep His Word and promises. An eagerness to see God proved true.
God had promised Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah or the consolation of Israel. God’s peace and comfort for the Nation of Israel and for all mankind.
Christmas reminds us that God is a promise keeper.
Christmas reminds us that if God will fulfill the promise of that first Christmas that He will fulfil every promise that He has given us in His Word.
2 Corinthians 1:20 - For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
The fact that Jesus came the first time gives us the hope that He is coming the second time.
The story of Simeon reminds us that God gave a promise of Salvation to all people, and He fulfilled that promise.
My Prayer this month is that you will have a renewed expectancy in the promises of God.
Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Image by svklimkin from Pixabay
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
John 7:37-39 - On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
As I was praying over what God wanted for us in the coming year two words kept leaping into my spirit. Overflow and Outpouring.
Last year our theme was Deeper, Higher, Wider and Further. I believe that describes what happens when you follow a river and what happens when you choose to go with God spiritually.
Overflow is what happens to a river that begins to fill its banks and outgrows its natural boundaries. The only way that happens is when it rains and the amount of rain coming in is greater than the capacity of the banks of the river to contain it.
Overflow means that there is plenty for you and more than enough to share with others. There is so much to share that you don’t even think about what is leaving you because there is so much there that there is not enough of you, to contain it all.
When Jesus spoke these words to His disciples, He was speaking of the work that the Holy Spirit would do in and through a life that was Filled with Him. Jesus was telling the disciples that they would be so full spiritually that it would impact every area of their life and the lives of the people they came into contact with.
After the disciples received the in filling of the Holy Spirit, they went on to change the entire world. The impact is still felt today.
I believe that we are entering a new season of spiritual overflow.
The Spiritual always affects the natural. While the two are separate in many ways they are intrinsically intertwined. If you try to separate the soul and spirit and soul from the body, you can’t do it. That is like trying to separate the wet from water.
Many Christians are looking at the world around them and seeing the proliferation of sin and wondering if anything good can come.
All around us people are breaking man’s laws and God’s laws. The more the laws are broken the more that we see people are broken. Whenever sin increases the grace and unmerited favor of God also abounds. Someone needs to hear what I am saying. I believe that we are entering a season of an outpouring of the grace and mercy of God upon our lives that will be amazing as the Holy Spirit flows through us.
The Bible says that Rivers of Living water will flow through us.
First of all, Jesus called the work of the Holy Spirit in our life a river not a lake. River’s flow. Lakes collect. It is amazing how a river stays full even while it is flowing and giving out. Rivers are always moving; they are not stagnant. The dead sea is dead because it is always collecting and has no outlet. Jesus promised that He would fill us with the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit would be moving in and through our life. We are not just something that the Holy Spirit is to fill we are a vessel that He is to flow through.
A lot of people are empty even though they are so full. The reason for that is we are not meant to be a lake; we are meant to be a river.
The secret to being full is found in allowing what the Holy Spirit has filled you with to flow into others. A river overflows not because it is empty but because it is so full that it is looking for an outlet. What God is doing in you will eventually be something that He uses to impact others. The Holy Spirit is designed to flow through you, where it transforms you and it blesses those around you. Someone needs to hear this. The Holy Spirit in you is not just enough He is more than enough to fill you and to use you to bless others.
The Key to overflow is found in giving. The reason that many people withhold from God is they believe that it will leave them with less. I have found that when you give everything to God not only are we not left with less He gives us more than enough.
When we give everything that we are to God and hold nothing back we release what is blocking our path and release an overflow of His favor and provision for everything in every area.
Luke 6:38 - Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Just as God withholds no good thing from us. We need to understand that it is as we allow the Holy Spirit to flow through us that we experience a CONTINUAL filling. Proverbs 11:24-25 - There is one who scatters yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. 25 The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.
You can never out give God. The more you refresh others the more you will be refreshed.
Part of what rivers do is remove dead things.
If you have ever looked at a flowing, overflowing river part of its purpose is to purify. Dead things get caught up in the flow and moved out of the way. When rivers are not polluted by man, they have a way of filtering the water and keeping it pure which brings life to everything it touches. When the Holy Spirit flows through us it brings with Him purifying power. When the Holy Spirit moves don’t be surprised to watch Him do a sweeping purifying work. I believe that part of this overflow will be a purifying sin removing, getting rid of every dead thing work of God.
Rivers stir things up. One reason some Christians are hesitant to flow with and over flow with the Spirit of God is they are afraid of what it will stir up. Rivers move the sediment out of the way and build new things. You can’t build without stirring up some things. I believe one of the things God was speaking to my heart about overflow is that when a river is moving, things that used to be hard to move now get moved easily. If you have ever seen a flood, it is amazing how everything from cars, trucks, houses – really anything that is obstructing the path of the river is now easily and almost effortlessly and almost violently swept out of the way. I believe God is saying to us that as we allow the Spirit of God to flow through us and overflow into the world around us that those things that used to seem like incredible obstacles are going to move with little to no effort on our part.
I heard the Holy Spirit speak to my heart – Take the limits off of God. We need to quit trying to control the way the Holy Spirit moves through us and just go with the flow and surrender ourselves to Him. Someone needs to hear this – if you will release control, you do not need to fear chaos because God is in control. I want to say it again we need to take the limits off of God. He is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask or think. Often people are accused of small thinking.
It’s not that most Christians are small thinkers they are just natural thinkers. What is within our ability to think, see or dream of.
Just know that God has a much higher way of thinking. Something happens when you allow the Holy Spirit to flow through you. You stop thinking and asking in a limited way and start to know HIS WAYS that are exceedingly, Abundantly above all. –
I am excited about what God has for us in the coming year. Thank you for joining in on these 21 days of prayer and Fasting.
You are dearly Loved
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Image by Simon Berger from Pixabay