I will hear, saith the LORD,
                                     I will hear the heavens,
                                                   And they shall hear the earth;
                                                           And the earth shall hear the corn,
                                                                                  And the wine, and the oil;
                                                                                              And they shall hear Jezreel.

And I will sow her unto Me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not My people, Thou art My people; and they shall say, Thou art my God" (Hos. 2:19-23).

Now notice God's provision in the earth to bring forth true FRUITFULNESS. In harvest time we are looking for fruit--not just any kind of fruit, but top quality fruit. Now God is the Husbandman, and He is looking for TOP QUALITY. He calls it "the precious fruit of the earth," He is waiting for that. He has waited for many centuries. We would think He would have reaped the harvest long ago, when revival fires were sweeping over many places in the earth. BUT GOD CONTINUED TO WAIT, SO I AM ASSURED THE HARVEST FOR WHICH HE IS WAITING IS GOING TO BE TOP QUALITY--THE VERY BEST THAT HE, THE GREAT GARDENER, CAN BRING FORTH!

This all starts with the "betrothal" of the Bride to the Bridegroom. It is this that sets in motion this tremendous chain reaction, this intricate series of movements in which Heaven and Earth respond the one to the other, and react and interact the one with the other... and another... and still another--God's intention being that there will come forth a great and a precious harvest, for the delight and the pleasure of the Husbandman. We must go through this passage carefully.

God says, "I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment." For He must cleanse and purify His people. This is the first stage of the "betrothal." Then "lovingkindness and mercies" follow after that.

This produces "faithfulness" on the part of the Bride. God is always faithful, but it is going to take an administration of righteousness and judgment to make His Bride faithful.

And then she comes to KNOW THE LORD. Oh yes, before all this she knows the LORD--AS one thing or another--AS Savior, AS Healer, AS Blesser, AS Giver--AS... AS... But this falls short of God's desire. Do you want to know the LORD because of what He does to you, OR BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS, THE GREAT AND THE OMNIPOTENT AND THE SOVEREIGN LORD OF THE UNIVERSE, AND OF YOUR OWN HEART?

All this starts in the heavens--the earth is apprehended and a chain reaction of life is set in motion:

"I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth." Heaven wants to pour forth of her blessings upon a needy world, and it seems to be her cry: "Give me rain for the earth, Oh Lord--the earth is famishing--give me rain for the earth."

"And they shall hear the earth." For the earth has finally realized her plight. God said He was going to send a famine on the earth, not of bread or water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. The famine is fast approaching. I think it is here, but God's people are not quite aware of it yet. But there are some, and there will be a lot more who will cry out: "God we are in a state of famine! Come, Oh Heavens, and pour righteousness upon Your people! We are perishing for lack of the living bread!"

And the Heavens hear, and they respond to the cries of the earth. The apostle tells us that the whole creation is groaning and travailing in birth-pangs---perhaps in great ignorance of what the groans are all about--but she groans for deliverance, And the heavens are alerted to the cries of the earth, and God is preparing sons, in the same school of obedience in which He prepared His only begotten Son, to be revealed in the day that He has appointed for earth's deliverance. (See Rom. 8:19-22).

And because Heaven has responded to earth, earth is able to respond to the corn and the wine and the oil. Their granaries are empty. The winepress is empty. The oil vats are empty. And they cry to the earth: "Fill us with wine. fill us with oil... fill us with corn..."

And so there is a chain reaction of life. There is new growth in the barren and desolate earth. There is the corn of the living bread. There is the "wine that maketh glad the heart of man." There is the oil of His anointing, that causes the face of man to shine with His glory, And the shining forth of the anointing from the face of His people will bring about the mighty workings of God in the earth.

But there is a further reaction. Jezreel begins to cry out:

    "Let truth be planted in the earth...
                               Let truth be planted in the earth...
                                                           Let truth be planted in the earth..."

And then the Bride cries out to the heavens, "SOW ME IN THE EARTH... SOW ME IN THE EARTH... SOW ME IN THE EARTH..."

And God hears the cries of His beloved Bride, and sows her RIGHT THERE IN THE EARTH THAT SHE MIGHT REPRODUCE HER KIND IN THE EARTH.

"Jezreel" means "God will sow."

Jezreel is God's promise to the earth that He will have a faithful Bride, and that when He finds her, HE WILL SOW HER IN THE EARTH.

Jezreel is God's promise to humanity that His holy Name shall no longer be blasphemed among the nations because of the unfaithfulness of His people--because of the unfaithfulness of an adulterous Bride.

And Jezreel is God's promise to the world that when His Bride is cleansed and made holy HE WILL SOW HER IN THE EARTH, THAT SHE MIGHT REPRODUCE HER HOLY SEED IN THE EARTH. GOD DOES NOT SOW DEAD SEED. HE SOWS A LIVING SEED. AND IF GOD SOWS A LIVING AND RIGHTEOUS SEED IN THE EARTH, HE DOES SO THAT HE MIGHT REAP A HARVEST AFTER THE KIND OF THE SEED THAT HE PLANTED.

How long will our God leave this holy Bride and this holy Seed in the earth? We do not know. BUT IF GOD IS PLANTING THIS HOLY BRIDE AS GOOD SEED IN THE EARTH, WE KNOW HE WILL LEAVE HER THERE LONG ENOUGH TO REPRODUCE HER KIND IN THE EARTH, FOR THE GLORY AND HONOR OF HIS GREAT NAME!

I mentioned above that the Bride cried out: "SOW ME... SOW ME... SOW ME IN THE EARTH." Perhaps some of you are wondering where I get that from. I get it from the word of truth, and from the Spirit of truth. Certainly the Bride of Christ longs for the day when she shall be clothed upon with immortality and caught up to be forever with her Lord. BUT FIRST AND FOREMOST, IF YOU KNOW THE SCRIPTURES AND THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, YOU KNOW THAT GOD'S HOLY BRIDE LONGS TO BE FRUITFUL IN THE EARTH.

She is not selfishly looking forward to an easy way of escape from this sinful old world. She longs to be sown in the earth that she might bring forth fruit in the lives of others.

She cries out with Rachel in her barrenness: "Give me children, or else I die" (Gen. 30:1). It is in the nature of a bride to desire fruitfulness. She cries out for children. And God heard her cry. Even in her birthpangs as Joseph was brought forth we hear her yearning for another son. She called him "Joseph," which means "God will add," as if to say, "I want another one... I want another one." And God gave her another one; but she had to die to bring him forth. She didn't know when she cried out in desperation, "Give me children, or else I die" that in the full answer to her prayer, she would have to die. Do you want to be fruitful unto the Lord? Jesus said, "The corn of wheat must DIE... or it abideth alone."

Then we hear God's faithful Bride moaning with Hannah in her barrenness:

"And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget Thine handmaid, but wilt give unto Thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head" (1 Sam. 1:10-11).

Or she complains with Abraham:

"Lord GOD, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless... Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed..." (Gen. 15:2-3).

Many of us have complained with Isaiah the prophet... and many more should be complaining:

"We have been with child,
We have been in pain,
We have as it were brought forth wind;
We have not wrought any deliverance in the earth;
Neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen"
(Isa. 26:18).

How many of us have prayed, feeling that sense of utter futility, utter hopelessness, utter helplessness: "Lord, why do You not take me away from the earth? Why do I cumber the ground? Lord, make me to be fruitful in the earth or let me die."

Take courage, if you have found this to be the prayer of your heart! He keeps you barren and fruitless BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU, AND BECAUSE HE WANTS TO BRING YOU TO HELPLESSNESS, THAT IN YOUR TOTAL HELPLESSNESS HE MIGHT REVEAL HIMSELF AS THE STRONG AND MIGHTY ONE--

"Who breaks the bows of the mighty men,
And girds the faltering one with strength.
Who gives the bread of life to the hungry,
And causes the self-sufficient ones to hire
themselves out for a crust of bread.
Who causes the barren woman to give birth to SEVEN,
and makes the strong and the fruitful woman feeble,
because she trusted in her own strength.
Who KILLETH, that in their death He might reveal the power of resurrection life.
Who maketh rich, and lifteth high,
and brings the self-sufficient ones to poverty and rags"
(See 1 Sam. 2:4-7).

AND SO THE HEAVENS ALWAYS RESPOND TO THE CRY OF THE WEAK AND THE BARREN AND THE HELPLESS, FOR IT WAS HEAVEN THAT MADE THEM THIS WAY, THAT GOD MIGHT BE GLORIFIED IN GIVING LIFE TO THE DRY TREE, AND SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO THE EUNUCH. (See Isa. 56:3-5).

Our loving Father only withholds His promise to bring us to helplessness, that He might be glorified in revealing Himself as the resurrection and the life in a devastated and barren people in the earth.

God says, "I WILL SOW HER." This is what His holy Bride is for! He does not kidnap her as soon as she becomes perfect, lest she be defiled by the world in which she is planted. For the seed that contains the life of God is not defiled by the evil world in which it is sown.

RATHER, THE POLLUTED EARTH IN WHICH SHE IS PLANTED BECOMES THE GOOD SOIL FOR THE GOOD SEED OF THE LIVING TRUTH, AS SINFUL, DEVASTATED, CORRUPTED, AND BROKEN LIVES ARE TOUCHED WITH THE GENTLENESS AND THE MERCIES AND THE LOVE OF THE HOLY BRIDE OF CHRIST.

SHE IS SOWN RIGHT HERE IN THE MIDST OF ALL THE EVIL, AS A LIVING EXAMPLE OF WHAT GOD CAN DO BY WAY OF CHANGING, TRANSFORMING, AND CREATING ANEW THE FALLEN SONS OF MEN.

The Sounds Of Heaven

And so the sounds of Heaven--and let us never forget this, these sounds begin in Heaven--they resound again and again, and re-echo again and again and again in the earth, as Heaven speaks and earth responds. The Bride speaks as Rebekah did to Abraham's servant, and she says, "I will go with this Man." She responds to righteousness, to faithfulness, and to truth. It strikes a chord in her heart. It does not sound like some far-out doctrine that she must beware of, in her great desire to "get the job done." She is willing to forsake all TO BECOME THE BRIDE OF THE LAMB.

I believe the Heavens are astir with great emotion as they look down and try to understand what God is doing in the earth; because they know little of what God has accomplished and will accomplish in His great work of redemption. Peter tells us they "desire to look into these things." (See 1 Pet. 1:12).

And then the angels respond to minister to God's servants in the earth, who are seeking to know God's will, and to walk in His way.

The Cherubim of glory respond to the people who stand before the Lord in priestly ministry; because the Cherubim, too, are there at the mercy seat (as you will discover in the Tabernacle of Moses, and in Solomon's Temple). They stand where God's people stand, declaring God's righteousness, and hearing words from His mouth. They too are exceedingly jealous for God's glory, and exceedingly jealous for the Church which is His body; and are part of the array of "ministering spirits" sent from Heaven to minister on behalf of God's elect.

"The wheels of the Cherubim" likewise respond to the Cherubim, for they are one with the Cherubim, and equally zealous for the glory of God. When the Cherubim are lifted up from the earth, so are the wheels lifted up; for "the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels" (Ezek. 1:20). I believe they must represent the ministry of the Body of Christ in the earth which in the purposes of God will move in beautiful coordination and harmony with the heavenly hosts. That is why it is SO IMPORTANT THAT WE FIND OUR PLACE IN THE EXPLICIT WILL OF GOD, FOR THE HEAVENLY HOSTS FUNCTION IN THIS REALM, AND IT IS ONLY IN THIS REALM THAT WE ARE GOING TO DISCOVER THAT THE RESOURCES OF HEAVEN ARE SENT FORTH TO MINISTER ON OUR BEHALF.

And so God's servants must be very attentive to respond to the Spirit, and this will not be difficult as they become more and more attentive to the will of God. These mighty movings of God are not limited to the days of Old Testament prophets. This dispensation is far greater, and surely God will move as mightily in the days of the Church's apostasy as He did in the time of Israel's apostasy. God's servants today will be caught away in the Spirit, as Ezekiel was, to see and to know all the abominable things that are going on in the House of God. God's trusted servants do nothing of, and out from themselves. They feel the impulse of the heart of God, and move only in response to His movements. They speak, as God bids them to speak. They remain dumb, like Ezekiel, as God bids them to be dumb. They know that they are not free to prophesy, just because they are prophets. Ezekiel had to learn this kind of discipline before God sent him to prophesy to the nations. God literally tied him down--for 390 days on one side, and then for 40 days on the other. He could not move except as God released him to perform the needful duties of the day, and prepare his daily portion of bread. His burden and zeal was not of human origin. It came upon him--this clear and powerful Word--after eating "a roll of a book." John the beloved likewise had to "eat the little book." It is because of this that they are able to prophesy to nations and tongues and people, in a way that would be chain-reacting, mighty, and powerful. The nations must respond to this kind of Word, not because these servants of God are famous in the list of earth's great ones, (for God's prophets are never famous until they are dead); but those who hear this kind of Word must react, in a chain reaction for good or for evil, because they know that ordinary men cannot speak this way. This is the voice of God, and they will receive it or hate it, all depending on the response of their own hearts.

Then he speaks with a powerful creative voice to "dry bones" in the open valley. And they come together in a mighty chain reaction of energy that causes a noise and a shaking. Flesh comes upon them, and sinews cover them, and they are endowed with organs that are prepared for the life of God. Up till then "THERE IS NO BREATH IN THEM."

And so he must speak again, this time to the winds of Heaven. It is not enough that earth hears your teachings, your prophecies, your expositions of scripture. Multitudes of men and women might thrill at the words they hear from powerful sermons or prophecies, but if the Heavens are not stirred to action THERE IS NO CHAIN REACTION OF LIFE IN THE EARTH.

And so he speaks again, in that same prophetic anointing, BUT THIS TIME HIS PROPHECY IS A STRONG INTERCESSORY PRAYER FROM THE DEPTHS OF HIS SPIRIT, AND FROM THE DEPTHS OF GOD'S SPIRIT:

"COME FROM THE FOUR WINDS O BREATH, AND BREATHE UPON THESE SLAIN, THAT THEY MAY LIVE."

FOR NO MATTER HOW POWERFUL YOUR PROPHECY MIGHT BE, IT MUST PENETRATE THE HEAVENS BEFORE THE KINGDOMS OF MEN ARE TORN DOWN, AND THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ESTABLISHED IN THEIR PLACE.

Earth fears no words from mere preachers, nor from self-styled prophets. But earth fears when an Ezekiel speaks--and prays. Kings feared when Elijah spoke--and prayed. Felix trembled when Paul spoke. When God's glory rested on the Church in Jerusalem, people feared to be around, unless their hearts were repentant before God.

For men cannot forget how Ezekiel spoke with God's words, and a leader in Israel dropped dead. They remember how a humble and broken Peter, moving in harmony with Heaven, spoke by the Spirit and two members of the Church dropped dead.

And yet they glory not in this, but rather in the lives of men and women who have been drawn to repentance. They fall on their face, as Ezekiel did, and cry out to God to have mercy upon the self-willed and the rebellious. They glory not in the God of wrath, but in the God who delights in lovingkindness, and mercy, and righteousness. But they must speak with God's words, because they are moving in the "wheels" of Heaven, and they know that God's purpose in pouring out His judgments in the earth is that "the inhabitants of the earth may learn righteousness." They delight in mercy. They cry out for God to remember mercy, even as He reveals His wrath. (See Hab. 3:2).

And so they hear, and they speak--and they hear and they speak again--and the chain reaction goes on and on until the heavens are totally occupied with what God is doing in the earth. And the earth is shaken to its foundations because of the VOICE that thunders forth from the throne through humble, insignificant, broken, but approved, vessels of mercy.

"Whose voice then shook the earth: but now He hath promised, saying, YET ONCE MORE I shake not the earth only, BUT ALSO HEAVEN" (Heb. 12:26).

And what does this mean, YET ONCE MORE? Paul tells us clearly what it means: IT MEANS THE SWEEPING AWAY OF ALL THE KINGDOMS OF MEN, THAT ONLY THE UNSHAKABLE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD MIGHT REMAIN.

The Law Of The Seed

We have been talking about "Jezreel" ("God will sow"); and before we go on we must speak a little about the power and the potential of the "seed." Let us not underestimate the POWER OF THE SEED, and the LAW OF THE SEED. It is staggering beyond our comprehension.

There is always a joy when one finds himself ministering in the anointing of His Spirit. For the word that goes forth not only refreshes the hearers, it strengthens and refreshes the one who speaks.

But God has a way of keeping His servants in a state of total weakness and dependency upon Him. FOR IF WE ARE CALLED TO BE A SOWER OF SEED, THEN WE MUST BE PREPARED TO GO INTO THE GROUND AND DIE IF THE WORD WE SOW IS GOING TO BE EFFECTUAL IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS. This is what Paul stated in his letter to the Corinthians: "So then death worketh in us, but LIFE IN YOU" (2 Cor. 4:12).

He rejoiced that he could be so identified with the truth that he could bear about in his body "the dying of the Lord Jesus." He understood the Law of the Seed. Others in his day were at liberty to go about preaching the gospel, some of whom were even contentious enough that they hoped they were adding to Paul's affliction. (See Phil. 1:15-16). Perhaps they boasted a little that Paul "had missed it." But who were those men? What were their names? And what do we know of their work and their accomplishments? We know nothing about them now, But the apostle Paul, faithful to sow a few seeds of Life here and there, and ending up in prison, and eventually as a martyr, HAS BROUGHT ABOUT A HARVEST IN THE LIVES OF MANY MILLIONS, PERHAPS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS; FOR HE HAS MINISTERED TO EVERY GENERATION FROM HIS DAY UNTIL NOW, IN THE WORD THAT GOD GAVE HIM FOR THE WHOLE CHURCH AGE. AS A FAITHFUL STEWARD HE NOT ONLY PLANTED GOOD SEED--HE BECAME GOOD SEED; HE BECAME IDENTIFIED WITH THE VERY WORD HE PREACHED, AND LAID DOWN HIS LIFE AS A TRUE DISCIPLE.

I want to give you an illustration of the Law of the Seed. I have chosen the seed of the common corn, or maize. In times of normal productivity there can be two or three ears on one stalk, from the one seed. Some varieties can produce as many as 1,000 kernels on one ear, but we are just going to talk in terms of a 100-fold increase from each seed. We will assume that we receive 100 kernels of good seed-corn reproduced from ONE seed. And then these are sown in each succeeding season in the earth. So in the first season we have 100 kernels reserved for planting in the second season, In the second season we will have l00 x l00, or 10,000 kernels. (We are not talking about the total harvest, just the 100-fold increase from the good seed-corn that was planted.) The next season will again produce 100 times that, and so forth.

NOW IN JUST FIVE SEASONS WE WILL HAVE: l00 x l00 x l00 x l00 x l00--or 10,000,000,000 (TEN BILLION) KERNELS OF SEED-CORN, which is about DOUBLE THE PRESENT POPULATION OF THE EARTH!

I know our vision must be high. But let us never suppose that our vision is high as we pursue the world's idea of greatness, enlargement, and success. Or that our vision is high if we seek to assemble the biggest crowds into the biggest auditoriums. or send out our books from the biggest distributing outlets. or hold the biggest seminars... or the biggest evangelistic out-reaches...

Whatever the Lord bids us do... this we must do. BUT WE MUST NEVER LET THIS BECOME OUR VISION. THEN WE ARE FREE TO DROP IT ALL, IF THAT SHOULD BE GOD'S WILL, without screaming our protests before God in Heaven: "Lord, this is Your work! Lord, You started this work! Please Help us, we are in trouble!" We can save ourselves a lot of frustration and anxiety if our vision is simply and only to COME TO KNOW HIM, AND TO WALK BY HIS SIDE. Then when the ravens stop bringing their daily supply, and the brook dries up, we can simply wait for further instructions. Because God sent the ravens is no reason for us to get excited when they stop their daily shuttle service from the tables of the rich to our table. Quit screaming at God to activate the ravens, and look to Him for the NEXT STEP. God has far more glorious things in mind than you and I can dream of, if we are praying right--and listening. We must pray, pray, pray... I know. BUT WE ARE NOT GOING TO PRAY RIGHT IF WE ARE NOT LISTENING TO WHAT GOD HAS TO SAY. We have got to quit commanding God. He knows what He is doing. (As you may know there are no "question marks" in the original scriptures, and if you read Isaiah 45:11 in the context of verse 9 and 10, you will know that the prophet is continuing to ask the same kind of questions he asked in the previous verses: "Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, are you questioning me concerning My sons? And are you going to command Me concerning the work of My hands?")

There is one thing, I am sure, that God is going to bring to nought, and it is this idea of your money being "seed-money," and the more you give to the Church the more you will prosper. God does love and reward the cheerful giver, and increases their resources so they can give in more abundance (2 Cor. 9:8-11). But He makes it very clear in the Word THAT HIS PEOPLE ARE TO BE THE SEED THAT IS PLANTED IF WE ARE GOING TO BE FRUITFUL IN THE EARTH. God's true disciples are those who FORSAKE EVERYTHING out of love for the Master they serve (Lk. 14:26-27). THE TEACHING THAT YOU CAN GROW PROSPEROUS AND RICH BY GIVING MORE TO THE CHURCH IS A PERVERSION OF TRUTH. You cannot be His disciple unless all you have, all you are, all you ever hope to be, is laid before Him that He might do with you and through you as He will.

The Church of the living God will continue in slow motion, or RATHER SHOULD I SAY IN REVERSE MOTION, until she recognizes these very clear and very scriptural principles of discipleship. The "give and grow rich" doctrine may have filled the coffers of the Church, BUT IT HAS LEFT THE MINISTRY AND THE PEOPLE STERILE. IT HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO ACCELERATE THE MOVEMENTS OF GOD'S SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH, OR IN THE WORLD. And our God continues to look for those who are willing to abandon their plans for the knowledge of Him, and for the glory of His Kingdom. He wants us to know that apart from Him we are severed from the Vine, AND CAN DO NOTHING! Don't point to what you see and try to refute this. God sees it more clearly than you and I may see it, AND HE LOOKS DOWN UPON IT AND SAYS, IT IS NOTHING! For only that which has come to birth and grows and increases "by the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus" will stand the test of His all-seeing, consuming eyes of fire.

I am confident that in this body that God is raising up in the earth there is going to be released all the power and all the energy that is needed to meet every need of mankind, and that He will be able to send forth THIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM to all nations in a matter of a few days, or a few weeks, or a few months, IN AS MANY SEASONS AS GOD HIMSELF MAY DESIGN.

BUT THE SEED-CORN HAS TO BE PLANTED BEFORE IT CAN PRODUCE GRAIN FOR THE MILLS; AND BREAD-CORN HAS TO BE BRUISED AND CRUSHED, BEFORE IT CAN BE LIVING BREAD FOR THE HUNGRY.

The Law of the Seed is simple, yet awesome in its working. Do you recall how the Lord Jesus mentioned "TWO OF YOU" in the context of causing Heaven to respond to the cries of His people (Matt. 18:19)? For TWO is all it takes to begin this dynamic "fusion" of like hearts and minds in the Spirit. How Jesus spoke of ONE GOOD SEED reproducing itself ONE HUNDRED FOLD (Matt. 13:8)? And what Moses said, how ONE OBEDIENT SERVANT OF THE LORD could put a THOUSAND of the enemy to flight? And how TWO could rout an army of TEN THOUSAND rather than just TWO thousand (Deut. 32:30)? How TWO SERVANTS of God, led by the LORD, routed the whole army of the Philistines, and drove them to utter confusion (1 Sam. 14:13-15)? How God whittled down the little army that Gideon had been able to muster till he had only THREE HUNDRED tested and tried soldiers, and how God used this little band to rout all the hosts of the Midianites who were "as grasshoppers for multitude"? And how Gideon was able to do this AFTER he had demobilized his army--not after he had mobilized them for battle (Judg. 7:7)? How FIVE BARLEY LOAVES and TWO FISHES IN THE HANDS OF JESUS caused such a massive chain reaction that they were multiplied many times over--who knows how many? Perhaps FIVE THOUSAND LOAVES AND TWO THOUSAND FISHES? All because of the touch of the Master's hands (Jn. 6:11).

How can our preachers take such delight in making sermons about these things, and God's people thrill at hearing them, AND YET TOTALLY IGNORE WHAT GOD IS TRYING TO TELL US?

               THAT IT IS NOT BY MIGHT...
                                           THAT IT IS NOT BY POWER...
                                                                               BUT IT IS BY MY SPIRIT
                                                                                                               SAITH THE LORD!

We are talking about God's Way--GOD'S ONLY WAY TO REACH THE MASSES AND BRING DELIVERANCE TO NATIONS. There is no other way. Man's way always reverts to slow motion, and then to reverse motion. AND RIGHT NOW THE CHURCH IS IN REVERSE GEAR! I am talking about plain, legible statistics--about Church statistics. A recent publication stated that it was probable there are more Muslims born into the world by natural birth, than there are Christians born into the Kingdom of God. And we are just talking about one religion of earth's many. THE CHAIN REACTION OF THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH IS WORKING AT FULL SPEED IN THE CHURCH, AND IS ACCELERATING WITH EVERY PASSING YEAR. IF IT SHOULD CONTINUE TO ACCELERATE THE WAY IT IS NOW, IN A VERY FEW GENERATIONS THE CHURCH OF CHRIST WOULD BECOME EXTINCT IN THE EARTH, WITH NOTHING BUT THE BONES OF RITUALISM LEFT TO SHOW FOR IT.

But we know this will not happen, because God is not going to let it happen. Why then do we speak with such emphasis, and with such horror at the ways of the Church? The answer is simple: IT IS THE ANOINTED WORD FROM THE MOUTH OF THE LORD THAT BRINGS LIFE TO THE HEARTS OF THE HEARERS. GOD'S SERVANTS MUST SPEAK IT FORTH. THE CROWDS WILL NOT HEAR IT--BUT THE FAITHFUL WILL--FOR IF IT IS AN ANOINTED WORD IT WILL NOT RETURN UNTO GOD VOID. IT WILL ACCOMPLISH THE DESIRE OF HIS HEART, AND FULFILL THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH HE SENT IT FORTH.

This is harvest time, the day for which the Husbandman has long waited. Then why do we spend a lot of time talking about the sowing of good Seed?

IT IS BECAUSE IN THIS HARVEST SEASON GOD IS FINDING SEED-GRAIN THAT IS SO PRECIOUS, SO DELIGHTFUL TO HIS HEART, THAT HE IS SAYING TO THE PLOUGH-MEN: "DIG UP THE SOIL AGAIN. THIS IS PRECIOUS SEED. I MUST HAVE MORE LIKE IT!"

AND WE ARE GOING TO SEE SUCH A MASSIVE ACCELERATION OF THE LAW OF THE SEED, THAT EVEN AS THE HARVESTERS ARE BRINGING IN THE GRAIN, THE SOWERS ARE RIGHT BEHIND THEM, TAKING SOME OF THAT GOOD SEED AND PLANTING IT IN THE EARTH,--EVEN AS THE PROPHET SAID:

"BEHOLD, THE DAYS COME, SAITH THE LORD, THAT THE PLOWMAN SHALL OVERTAKE THE REAPER, AND THE TREADER OF GRAPES HIM THAT SOWETH SEED" (Amos 9:13).

God has promised to do a "quick work in the earth," and the days will come when the time of reaping will also be a time of sowing! A time of sowing even in harvest time! And God will quickly bring to maturity a people who are newly born into the Kingdom of God in this last hour!

Chapter 11 - The Light of Seven Days In One
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