Are We Ready for the Harvest
By Carmela Real
This is a message that was birthed through a series of visions and prophetic words that the Lord has given me.
I believe the body of Christ is in a period of intense preparation. This will first become evident in the lives of those who have been allowing the Lord to scale them like a fish with His daily conviction. Their obedience to the Lord’s dealings will result in the removal of scales from their hearts, minds, and souls, making them ready for more of His deeper sanctification.
I believe that in this season of intense preparation, we are going to see a deeper degree of His scaling process happening at a faster rate. Why? Because the harvest is ripe and His laborers are few.
During one of our prayer meetings, I had a vision of a big dove on a table. This dove, who I knew was the Holy Spirit, had fiery eyes. The dove flew with great boldness and resolve through the heart of one of the people attending the meeting and straight out her back. He then continued to go through each person’s heart in the same fashion until everyone in the room was penetrated.
I asked the Lord what was happening. He said that He is coming like a flint knife to circumcise the hearts of His people in preparation for the upcoming harvest.
Then I heard in my spirit, "There is an army of unbelievers who are coming out of the wilderness. They have not yet been circumcised. They are going through the River Jordan, and it is My desire to take the reproach of the world from them. Therefore, I will give My church flint knives like I gave Joshua to circumcise their hearts."
The Lord has been speaking to this ministry regarding a deep repentance that His church is about to experience. Consequently, I have been seeking the Lord more seriously than I have in the past. Unexpectedly, instead of becoming more Christ-like, I found my old self resurfacing over and over again and it is UGLY!
Thee Lord’s Gardening Sessions
Little did I know that Jesus had set me up! He put the desire in my heart to seriously seek Him because He wanted permission to shine like a searchlight onto the wicked areas of my heart. His conviction has been coming to me like a tidal wave that I cannot contain.
At times all I have to do is close my eyes for a second and my sinful thoughts and ways flash like a movie in front of me. I’ve also experienced what feels like the Lord pulling roots out of the innermost part of my being. When this occurs, I don’t know if I should hide under the carpet or scream.
The Lord usually moves on me like this while I am in prayer before I go to bed. Each time this happens, I end up squeezing my comforter, hoping the Lord’s intense gardening session will pass. I stay in that position while feeling every inch of His sword cut through my soul and my spirit.
This is a state of repentance that I have not experienced before. However, as deep as this was, I know there is something even deeper that we are about to experience as a body.
The vision of the dove I mentioned earlier made more sense after having my own heart penetrated. I now understand why the body of Christ will have to go through a deep repentance in the days ahead. The Lord has to circumcise the hearts of His current laborers so they will have the authority, like Joshua, to circumcise the hearts of those who are coming out of the wilderness to become laborers for the upcoming harvest.
Beseech the Lord of the Harvest
During one of our prayer meetings, I heard in my spirit this Scripture: "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into His harvest" (Matthew 9:38 KJV). There was a sense of urgency in the Lord’s voice when I heard this. I was so intrigued by His tone that I did some research on this verse. What I found out surprised me.
This verse is indeed a very urgent and radical prayer by the Lord because He used two strong Greek verbs in it. The first verb, pray, is from the Greek word deomai, which means "to beseech (1)" and beseech means "to beg for urgently or anxiously and to request earnestly (2)." The second verb, send forth, is from the Greek word ekballo. Ek means "out" and ballo means "to cast (out) or throw (down)." If I rephrase this verse based on its root words, it reads, "Therefore, earnestly beseech and urgently beg the Lord of the harvest to cast out/throw down laborers into His harvest."
Suddenly, I had this thought and feeling of being picked up and thrown out in a flinging motion like a net into a huge body of water. Then I realized, the Lord is not kidding! He wants us to earnestly beg Him for His laborers to be cast out like a net into His harvest field.
He then directed me to John chapter 21. This scene occurred in Tiberias after Jesus’ resurrection. Peter decided to go fishing. Nathanael, Thomas, John, James, and two other disciples went with him. (See John 21:1-3.)
But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. (John 21:4-7 KJV)The verb cast in verses 6 and 7 is the Greek verb ballo. The Lord used it when He commanded the disciples to cast their net on the right side of the ship and when Peter cast himself into the sea.
According to the Dictionary of Word Study, the Greek verbs Pempo and Apostello are used interchangeably whenever the writer wants to convey the message of sending people forth on a mission (such as to preach, to speak, or to bless)(3). The Greek verb ballo, which the Lord used in Matthew 9:38, is not the typical sending-forth verb used in a sentence like, "I am sending you to Samaria to preach the good news." The Lord did not choose Pempo or Apostello to describe His desire for laborers to be sent forth. He used ballo, as if to say, "I am casting you out, I am throwing you down, and I am deliberately hurling you out in a flinging motion like a net into the harvest field."
As I thought of the weight of what my research was showing me, the sobering feeling of being picked up and thrown out like a net started to overpower my whole being. I said, "Lord, You actually prayed for Your laborers to be cast out or thrown down or hurled out in a flinging motion like a net into Your harvest field!"
In John 21:6 and 8, the Lord told the disciples, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch." So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. . . . But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish" (NASB).
When the disciples cast their nets, the catch was so heavy they had to drag the net onto the shore. This indicates that they could have used more hands. The Lord is also asking us in this hour to beseech the Lord of the harvest to cast laborers into His harvest field.
There is a multitude of fish ready to be harvested. And He knows exactly where they are. This catch will be heavy. He will need every single laborer to be cast out like a net because the laborers are few and the harvest is ripe. After the fish are caught, the Lord will have to prepare them to be a part of His net for this upcoming harvest.
Why did He use the more urgent verb ballo instead of the typical Pempo or Apostello? I did further research and was surprised to discover that the Amplified version of this verse uses the verbs force out and thrust. "So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust laborers into His harvest" (Matthew 9:38 AMP). According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, the word thrust means:
1. to put (as an unwilling person) forcibly into a course of action or position <was thrust into the job>; and2. to cause to enter or pierce something by or as if by pushing <thrust a dagger into his heart> (2).
The harvest is ripe, yet most of His laborers are stuck in bitterness, harboring resentment, anger, jealousy, greed, and envy, allowing seeds of discord to empower their lives. (Believe me, I am not excluding myself here. I have my own comfort zones to deal with. How Ironic that I clung onto my comforter when I was under the knife of the Lord.)
That’s why in this hour He wants us to pray and earnestly beseech Him to send forth His laborers. He needs to force them out of their comfort zones and change the direction and course of their lives so He can thrust His flint knife into their hearts. He must circumcise them to change them from unwilling and disobedient laborers into willing, obedient laborers for His harvest.
Catastrophic Requirement
When I thought the Lord was done with what He was conveying to me about the harvest, I heard in my spirit a peculiar combination of words: "catastrophic requirement to feed My chickens so they can become eagles." I asked Him, "What is this catastrophic requirement You are talking about? Is this another 9/11?"
I felt impressed to look up the word catastrophic. I found that it came from the Greek word strepho, which means "to turn."
Strepho is also the root word used to describe the ministry of John the Baptist in Luke 1:15-17 (KJV): "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
John’s ministry was one of repentance. He was used by God to turn disobedient hearts back to the Lord to make ready a people prepared for Him.
Then I heard God say, "My church is at a turning point. My laborers are few and the harvest is ripe. I need every single laborer for this next catch. It will be so big and heavy, it will be overwhelming. My laborers will need more hands."
I finally understood. He brings His laborers to a turning point. It is a point of deep repentance to turn their disobedient hearts to make ready a people prepared for Him before the harvest. During this point He will force them out of their comfort zones so He can change the course and direction of their lives. He will use this deep repentance to turn His unwilling laborers from their current "chicken" frame of mind into soaring eagles.
He is truly an awesome God. In His infinite grace and mercy, He is giving His unwilling and disobedient laborers every chance to become a part of His net for this harvest.
I suffered a catastrophic event in my life when my husband left me. That experience led me to repent and turn to Jesus. The Lord forced me out of a major comfort zone and completely changed the direction of my life.
As grievous as that was, I do not regret the trial because of the fruit it has produced in my life. However, a catastrophic event is not the only way to cause someone to turn. The Lord said, "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matthew 21:44 KJV).
One of the first visions I received from the Lord after I was saved was a vision of a net. He told me that each member of His body is like a square on that net according to John 21:11, "Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken" (NKJV).
It is better to be broken now than later. When He shows us the huge harvest and casts us out like a net, we do not want to break then. If we allow Him to break us now, through this deep repentance, He can circumcise our hearts to give us new hearts. He promised, "And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God" (Ezekiel 11:19-20 NASB).
His Spiritual Flint Knives
The Lord’s desire is for us to have the authority to handle His spiritual flint knives. Like Joshua, He wants us to circumcise the hearts of those who are coming out of the wilderness. However, in order to have this authority, we need to be walking in true circumcision as Paul described in Philippians 3:2-3: "Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh" (NASB).
Moses described this spiritual circumcision as well. "Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live" (Deuteronomy 30:6 NASB). We need our hearts to be circumcised in order that we can truly love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul. Only then will we have the authority to hold His spiritual flint knives to circumcise the hearts of His people.
Years ago I had a vision of the Lord carefully holding a wound, making sure it would not fall out of His hand. My pastor interpreted this vision. She said we should be careful in handling the wounds of others so that our own wounds will not get in the way.
As I was writing this article, the Lord reminded me of a word I gave out a few years ago. He said there is a wave coming. (We believe in this ministry that this among other things is a wave of deep repentance.) Beyond this wave is calm water with boats of different sizes carrying His sheep and lambs that are wounded and sleeping. He is bringing these sheep from various pens to a place that He will show them, the place where His gate is. In this place He will teach them how to hear the good Shepherd’s voice so they can follow Him.
This is the reason the Lord wants to circumcise our hearts in preparation for this upcoming harvest. His wounded children are coming and they will need a place to be cleansed and sanctified. He is preparing a people who will take care of them and not wound them again. Therefore we have to allow Him to circumcise, cleanse, and sanctify us; otherwise, our own wounds can cause us to hurt these people again.
It would be easy for us to become like the dogs and evil workers walking in false circumcision that Paul warned the Philippians to beware of. (See Philippians 3:2.)
Do You Love Me?
According to John 21, as soon as the disciples dragged their net onto the shore, the Lord invited them to have breakfast with Him. After eating their fill, He asked Peter one question three times. The seriousness of His question indicates His heart for the harvest.
So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend My lambs."He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep."
He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep" (John 21:15-17 NASB).
The Lord is asking us the same questions. Do we love Him enough to tend to His lambs? Do we love him enough to shepherd His sheep? This is the reason He instructed, "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into His harvest" (Matthew 9:38 KJV).