Receive the Great Harvest of Souls
One day, out of the blue, Father God spoke to me in a dream, “Joshua, Sukkot is the Feast of Ingathering.” This was the first time God ever taught me about the Bible in a dream! Last week my sermon was titled, “Enter into the Blessings of Sukkot”. Sukkot will fall on 24th September this year, and prior to that, the Beach Baptism for Thousands on 16th September. Truly, it is time for an abundant harvest of souls, gathering precious brothers and sisters under the Name of the Lord and into His Kingdom. May I urge all brothers and sisters to engage in unity, pray faithfully and spread the Gospel together because God will definitely make this Baptism for Thousands a reality.
The Jews observe three festivals yearly: Passover, Pentecost and Sukkot. Barley harvest starts after Pentecost and lasts until the Feast of Ingathering at the end of year, followed by the Jewish New Year and a joyous celebration of Sukkot. Our church has been observing Sukkot since year 2004. In spite of various kinds of evangelistic activities being held over the years, we are unusually moved to mobilize the whole church for the Beach Baptism for Thousands this year. We are doing just as God has commanded us.
This February, for the “Cruise Carnival ’18”, I went on the cruise with a few co-workers to explore to inspect it prior to having the carnival. Unfortunately we were hit with a storm and I became really unwell with
vomiting and a flu, a real hard time for me. Last month, before “Cruise Carnival ’18” set off, three typhoons were forecasted for the Pacific Ocean, likely to hit Okinawa which was deeply worrying to all as our coworkers had spent months to organize the trip. Thankfully, the sea was calm and the sun was shining after the cruise set sail, so I didn’t need any anti-nausea medication. Even the Typhoons changed their courses, leaving the cruise totally unaffected.
Prior to the departure, God revealed to us that the 611 vision of planting Trees of Life everywhere on the earth would be fulfilled in 52 years. The first day of the journey was the 23rd July, which was the 6th month
and 11th day (611) in the lunar calendar. God confirmed to us that the “Vision of planting Trees of Life in 52 years” had indeed set sail that day! Through the book of Nehemiah which we read in the morning devotions, God announced to us, “A new era has begun!” Over 2600 people spent 6 days and 5 nights on the lovely sea in wonderful weather. During the last evening, there were three extraordinary astronomical phenomena: the sun and moon appeared at the same time, there was a total lunar eclipse and Mars was visibly closest to the Earth in the night sky. God displayed the heavens and spoke aloud to us.
Why did the typhoon suddenly turn eastward instead of hitting Okinawa directly westward? What is that telling us? I had an inspiration, “The course of the typhoon was in the shape of a sickle, one for harvesting
souls!” God foretold us of a great harvest ahead, an echo to His saying, “the Feast of Ingathering is Sukkot” earlier on. God spoke to us through “the sun and moon testifying together” as well as the typhoon, His
wonderful deeds are truly amazing!
Dear brothers and sisters, this is the time for the great harvest and the season for planting Trees of Life. Let us respond in faith, with one heart. May all our cell groups and tribes enter into the flow of abundant harvest, ready to receive the blessings of Sukkot! • [2018.08.12]