The Time Is Now — Harvest Hands — Manouchka Charles

as we open up his word I have no doubt that he is going to speak so if you would turn with me to First Corinthians 3 going to be reading from verses 5-6 and this is what it says what after all is Apollos and what is Paul only servants through whom you came to believe as the Lord as a assigned each task I planted the seed Apollos watered it but God has been making it grow so neither the one who plants nor the one who Waters is anything but only God who makes things grow so for the next few moments I want to talk to you from this thought the time is now let's pray together Spirit of the Living God we thank you that you are here in this room we pray that you would speak right now that this word would be a word that penetrates to our hearts that it would move us into action and we just say Come Holy Spirit do what only you can do in Jesus name amen and amen as we look to the scripture today I I really want to focus on the six verse of First Corinthians chapter 3 and I love how it reads in the new King James J version of the Bible it says I planted seed Apollos watered it but God gave the increase there is a process that the Apostle Paul is acknowledging that it takes planting it takes watering but then there is the Divine timing of God the perfect timing of God that causes the increase to take place the time and Seasons matter in the kingdom of God it is in Ecclesiastes 3 And1 that says that there is a time for everything a season for every activity under the heavens and I want to take a moment to look at the word time in the Greek to give us a better understanding of timing the first word that I want to look at for time in the Greek is this word Kronos the definition of Kronos is the measurable linear flow of time it is understood as a system or structure of sequential moments that is counted by the minutes by The Hours by the months by the days it is the way that we structure time this is where we get the word chronological from that we are able to understand time through Kronos and so we can all be in agreement that today is December 15th 2024 this is universally true whether you're watching this 5 years from now now that does not change the fact that today is December 15th 2024 did I say 2022 before here's the thing about chronological time you have the ability to go back you have the ability to go forward and you have nobody was going to correct ((applause)) me oh I'm living in the past my God it's 2024 and I can use that same logic of thinking with chronological time to tell you that tomorrow is going to be December 16th 2024 and that many years ago I won't tell you how many I was born on December 16th you see how I kind of threw in there that's my ((applause)) birthday we can look at time through this linear way I cannot go back in time I cannot go into the future but I can understand time through this linear structure of Kronos but what's different from Kronos to the other form of time that I want to talk about chyros is that Kronos is measured by the minut chyros is measured by the moment the way that we would Define chyos is the appointed or the opportune time it's moments that carry deep significance a moment of purpose beyond the ordinary passage of time it's when things happen at the right time so again today we are in agreement that it is December 15th 2024 but if you walk out to the courtyard and you're single and you bump into someone strike a conversation and that person becomes your future spouse it is no longer just December 15 2024 you have now stepped into a chairos moment a defining Moment In Your Destiny and some of y'all are missing cyro's moments because you leave dur in the altar call see these cyos moments are when when the right place and the right time and the right purpose align time is a gift from God and we when we understand God's timing we can operate in our Kronos correctly see we prepare in our Kronos for what God has already prepared in his chyros and we're always waiting for the one day I can't wait for this to happen one day but what are we doing with our every day they were like I'm just waiting on God God but what if what if he is waiting on you what if he's waiting on you to do what he has asked you to do see when our human effort our Kronos meets God's Divine timing that is chyros that is when we see increase in growth so if Paul did not plant and if Apollo did not water they would not see the increase they have an understanding that there is something that they have to do with the time that God has given them in order to align with God's perfect timing see time is important it is one of the most valuable Commodities that we have you cannot buy it you can't sell it you can't trade it there's people in the hospital that wish they had more of it it is the psalmist that teaches us he says this teach us to number our days in Psalm 90 verse 12 so that we may get a heart of wisdom when I understand time I can move in wisdom and the way that I usually try to picture time is by looking at time as money in the bank that oftentimes we know how much money we have in the bank or lack thereof and we would know if there was anything taken from our bank account without our Authority I know this to be true because the other day there was a transaction for just $2 that hit my bank account that I had no idea where it came from and although it was a small amount I was immediately on the phone with my credit card company saying I have not authorized this charge because if you know anything about scammers and I hope you don't they start small first they hit you with the $2 charge and if it goes unnotice and you don't say anything about it they try let me try for 20 and then moments later they got 15 Gucci belts and 13 Louis bags and you're wondering why you're in debt because what happens is what they will attempt to do do is to start with a small amount and the enemy is the same way that he tries to steal from your time he said you know what let me just take a little bit yeah yeah just just watch that video real quick on Tik Tok you I know you said that you were going to read your Bible but just real quick just check that video or check that email get on that business call and what he will attempt to do is little by little take from your time and what happens things can go unnoticed and then you look over your life and you're Wonder wondering what did I do with this year how did I spend my time and so when we have an understanding of time we have the opportunity to move in wisdom God has given us time for a purpose he has gifted us with time so that we can partner with him for us to move along the purposes of the kingdom of God the other day I I wanted to take some intentional time I I really want to make sure that what I do as a rhythm of my life is before I celebrate a birthday before I enter into a new year that I would stop and I would pause and I would reflect and take some time to evaluate the different areas of my life and so I went away and decided to take two days to be alone with God and to evaluate my spiritual health and to evaluate my relationships and to evaluate my purpose did I do what God called me to do this year and to evaluate my finances it was a time of Focus for me and it was a structure and a system where I could be intentional about what I was going to do with my time I truly believe this that when we take time away with God it can save us time in the future that two days with God of just sitting in his presence and asking him what I can do next or what I should do next can save me 10 years of wasting my time and so it's been an intentional practice to take time so I was away I was up in the mountain somewhere and I I went to a local restaurant in the area and it was one of those really nice Farm to Table restaurants and I sat down and the waiter came over he was really nice and he struck up a conversation with me and he's like hey I want to walk you through the menu I said great he said do you like vegetables and I don't know why I responded the way that I did it was as if I didn't spend two days with the Lord elij just came up I said I love vegetables I was like like love is too extreme I'm grateful for it I know what it does for me but I was like why did I lie that quickly so this man of God proceeded to tell me about every vegetable on the I mean it was about five minutes he's telling me how the vegetables were cooked he was telling me how they were grown it was just so much detail about all these vegetables and he said I I've given you so much information I'm going to I'm going to go back and and I'll come back and take your order and I was so hungry I was like I don't have time for you to come back I said I know what I want he said what will you have I said give me the stick Ste said after all that I know exactly what I want but during this conversation there was something that he kept on repeating over and over that caught my attention he said you'd be surprised with grows in the winter and I want to get everybody on the same page here I know people are tuning in from all over the world but for my friends in Miami winter is a season where it gets cold yeah it gets dark it gets dry it's not my favorite season in other places in the world the thing about winter is that research would tell you that people can develop what is called seasonal depression during the winter and it is because people go to work before the sun rises they don't leave work until the sun sets and so they're not seeing sunlight they feel disconnected they feel lonely they feel sad and and when he said you'd be surprised what grows in the winter I started thinking about winter in that context and I thought it was so beautiful that God gives us a prophetic picture through agriculture that no matter what season that I find myself in it can still be a season where he produces something down on the inside of me that even in a season that feels cold lonely and dry that he can still produce something great I think about my own life that how could God produced something out of all the things that I had been through how could out of a car accident that almost killed my life that God would produce a marathon runner how could God produce that from this how in the world can God produce in your winter season see God has the ability it is the chyros of God it is a Divine timing of God that if you say that you will plant and if you actually put seed in the ground that no matter what season you find yourself in that you can produce fruit that in a season that should have produced grief that you can still produce joy that in a season where you lost your job that you could produce a business idea but I want to be reminded that you'd be surprised what grows in the winter I love what the prophet Ezekiel says in Ezekiel 47 he says every month they will bear fruit and I just wanted to take that for the word for myself cuz I don't know what your 2024 looked like but can I prophesy to your 2025 and say that every month you will produce fruit January fruit February fruit March April May June July I just need a few people who will say there will not be one unproductive season in my 2025 as I step into September I've got to produce fruit I've got to produce fruit in November I've got to produce fruit in December I need to produce fruit I decree and I declare that you shall produce fruit in every season it might be winter it might feel cold it might feel lonely but I serve a God that says that every month they will bear fruit so I'm just going to grab hold to that word that 2025 will be the year that I bear fruit and I'm not bearing fruit because I'm gifted or I'm talented but because the water from the sanctuary flows to me that I've got rivers of Living Water down on the inside of me and so I have the ability to produce fruit what I believe to be true what I believe God is doing in his church that although there might be a famine in the land there will be food on your table you might be living in a world where people are running out of ideas and running out of Hope and you'll see that God would gift you with vision and insight and foresight and hope and love when everything around you seem seems like it is going wrong God can still bless you it is the psalmist says that a thousand may fall at my side and 10,000 at my right but it will not come near me I prophesy over my 2025 that there's going to be some things that can't even get near me depression can't get near me anxiety can't get near me Suicidal Thoughts can't get near me it will not get near me it could be happening around me but it will not get near me I just need a church to take a few seconds to say that's the word that I receive I've been down too long I've been messed up too long I receive the word of the Lord that I will produce fruit I'm producing the fruit of the spirit joy peace love kindness if you haven't seen it in 2024 grab hold of it for your 2025 God's going to do it but you've got to align yourself to his word I align myself to the truth in the word of God the prophet continues on and he says to them that the fruit that they produce will provide food and healing to the Nations that so what I produce what comes out of the body of Christ will be food for many and healing to the Nations this is the promise of God this is why we say that this season that we're entering into that God has called us to use our Harvest hands because what we plant will be fruit for many what we plant and what we water would be healing for a world that is looking for a savior for a world that is looking for hope God is saying that I've provided you with the seed so that you can partner with me to be a blessing ing to my kingdom and Beyond Paul he says I planted seed Apollo's watered it but God brings the increase that when we partner with God the result has to be increased it's a mystery how one seed can grow into a massive tree it is a mystery how God could use us to bring about his purposes but when we partner with God what we see is multiplication we see this throughout the Book of Acts that everywhere that they went that the church grew and it multiplied in Acts 6 verse 7 it says that they preached the gospel and they increased rapidly there was not just growth but there was Speedy growth that there was EX accelerated growth and the growth was not just contingent upon their prosperity even in moments of persecution they were able to grow acts 11 tells us this that after Stephen was martyred it said that the church was scattered but the word of God spread it is spread among the Jews and it spread among the Greeks that even in persecution that the word of God was able to spread and so when Paul is saying that he planted and Apollos watered and God gave the increase this is his testimony that he saw this throughout his ministry that there's a story in Acts 19 where Paul is preaching the gospel in a synagogue and they are not really tuned into what he has to say so much so that they get upset this is what it says in Acts 19 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God but some of them became obstinate they refused to believe and publicly maligned the way so Paul left them Paul is like I got the right word but the wrong audience he took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of tyranus this is a secular lecture hall says this went on for two years so that all the Jews and the Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard heard the word of the Lord when I read this text I I had to ask myself how does everyone in Asia Minor hear the gospel in a time where there was no internet the time where there's no YouTube no viral videos no no Tik Tok how in the world was the word able to be spread where everyone heard the word of the Lord and the reason why this happened was because people would listen to Paul teach Scholars say that that he would go every day at 11:00 a.m. and 400 p.m. to teach the word and people from all over would hear the word and the word would so change them and transform them that they would go to their respective places and they would teach what they heard and so they didn't just come to hear the word but they actually heard the word to live out the word and to then teach the word I believe that this is a model for us and a picture of what the church is supposed to be that I'm preaching a message thank God but can the message get down on the inside of you where you preach it to somebody else this is the picture of Kingdom multiplication this is how the word of God spread and I believe that as we look to scripture there is an equation for multiplication and a mandate for us that if we get to hear God's word if we have the opportunity to sit under his teachings do I just listen to it and hoard the information or do I spread the gospel see the equation of multiplication if if we're going to step into a season where we're saying that God is going to bring us the Harvest and God's going to bless us in great ways there is something that we are called to do I believe the time is now to reach the lost the time is now to train the believer and The Time Is Now to impact the city see this is the equation to multiplication reaching the lost training the believer and impacting the city is the thing that leads to Kingdom growth and so if we want to see the word of God spread throughout our world that we have to take up this responsibility and this is not just some madeup responsibility but this is actually the Great Commission when Jesus left Earth he left with an instruction to his disciples he gives us the Great Commission in Matthew 28 he tells us to go make discip deciples of all nations in Mark he tells them to go into all the world and preach the gospel he tells them to heal the sick and to cast out demons in Luke he tells them to teach the repentance of sins he teaches over and over again in John and in Acts he tells us that we will receive power to become his Witnesses in Jerusalem Judea and to the ends of the Earth and so this is our mandate if you're wondering what God is is calling us to do it goes back to the Great Commission and we can often feel like well maybe I I don't know how to live out the Great Commission don't know how to plant seeds like Paul I don't know how to water like Apollo I got to make sure that I've come to church enough times before I actually share about Jesus I've got to complete the growth track first before I share about Jesus I've got to know more information but in Ecclesiastes it says whoever watches the wind or waits for perfect conditions will not seow and so if we're waiting to get it all together if we're waiting for the perfect conditions if we're waiting to have all the information if we're waiting to to preach it perfect or to teach it perfect to actually step into a place where we plant and we water we will not reap the Harvest see we are called to reach the lost and I just just want to share some practical ways that in our everyday lives that we can share the gospel this is our mandate and this is our call here's are some ways we celebrated nine years as a church so I want to give you nine ways that you can share the gospel the first way that you can share the gospel is tell your Jesus story people can argue theology denominations all kind of information but they cannot argue your testimony that it might just start with just sharing how Jesus changed your life the second way is use social media that if you are on a social media platform I have to ask myself am I going to seow seeds of division or am I going to seow seeds of encouragement I want to make sure that if I'm using the platform that I'm sharing the gospel number three invite people to church I think this is a beautiful thing that if we come into this place and we have received it's an opportunity for us to tell the people around us about what we have experienced it's one of our leaders on this at the on team at the city location I was talking to him and he said that in three months he brought 20 people to church and honestly it challenged me to ask myself how many people have I brought to church how many people have I led to know Jesus number four pray for people immediately that you might encounter people who are in need you might encounter people who ask for prayer or maybe they're just sharing their problems and instead of just listening and saying I'll pray for you later there something that we learned in the beginning of our Church Pastor Denny Don told us this he says that in moments of conversation he just asked people can I pray for you right now and because I've adopted this model I found myself in the middle of Whole Foods just praying for people it is not comfortable it's awkward but I I want to be the kind of person that will say you know what I'm gonna stop pray for you right now number five show kindness through actions that maybe you don't have the opportunity to have a conversation with someone but someone should know that there's something different about you by the way that you behave maybe it's the way that you smile maybe it's the way that you approach people in a world where people are only thinking about themselves what if we shift the focus and we show a world what it looks like to be kind to one another number six share scripture in conversation this has been an area that I've been trying to challenge myself where I can do a better job at not just giving people opinions about their issues but that I could actually share scripture in conversation I was talking to somebody that I had met and he was saying I don't always feel God and in that moment I was like okay what do I say can I I can give him a story or give him some kind of thought or opinion but I went to scripture and I said well the Bible says Be Still In know that I'm God not be still and feel that I'm God and there's ways that we can incorporate just in our day-to-day conversations with people scripture number seven keep resources ready that you should have resources that you can share we've got touch cards and we've got different ways that you could invite people to church and so maybe it's not a conversation maybe I could just hand them something so that they know that they can come and be a part of a community number eight pray for opportunities to share ask God lord can you give me an opportunity to share your word can you give me opportunity to be able to tell someone of your goodness and number nine study and practice sharing I believe that we need to know how to share the gospel that if someone comes up to us and wants to make a decision to follow Jesus I might not be able to say hey come to church on Sunday they do an altar call at the end but what if right there in that moment I can go to scripture say Romans 10 says believe in your heart confess with your mouth you will be saved can we pray this prayer together that we need to know how to share the gospel and the way that we learn is through practice the way that we learn is through study where there are resources that can help us to be effective Witnesses for the kingdom of God that we want to be the best kind of witness that we can be in our sphere of influence that he said that he calls us to be Witnesses everywhere that we go and you might be thinking to yourself well I've tried these methods I've tried to share the gospel I've tried to tell people about Jesus but it seems to be that they don't want to know I've tried to talk to my family I've tried to invite them to church what I've learned is that people might not allow you to speak to them about the Lord but they can never stop you from speaking to the Lord about them and so whether or not people want to hear what I have to say I'm never going to stop praying and believing that God would speak to their hearts see we're called to reach the lost but Salvation is just the beginning of a believer's journey salvation is just the beginning and I know this to be true if if it was not then Paul would have never taught us about Grace he would have never taught us about how to endure through trials he would have never taught us about spiritual maturity or the gifts of the Spirit or sanctification salvation is the beginning we're called to reach the lost but we're also called to train the believer we are called to be trained as the believer and it's really simple Acts 2 and 42 shows us how the Believers in the early church were trained it says they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching to Fellowship to the breaking of bread and to to prayer that they devoted themelves so there was a work that the believer did themselves so church was great they listened to the apostles teaching but then themselves they studied what they heard they prayed they fellowshipped with other believers and so if we are going to be trained as the believer it requires us to develop spiritual disciplines it requires us to learn how to pray and how to fast and how to read God's word there is discipline that is required for us as the believer and so we are called to reach the loss train the believer but lastly to impact the city that it has always been the heart of God to partner with humankind for the purposes of saving a world that needs to know him see in Genesis 2 it says by the seventh day God finished the work he had been doing so on the seventh day he rested from all of his work this is the Sabbath then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy it goes on to say because he rested from all the work of creating he had done this is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created when the L Lord God made the earth and the heavens said now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up for the Lord God had not sent on the earth rain and there was no one to work the ground that sounds like Paul planted and Apollo water said but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground then the Lord formed a man man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the Man became a living being in verse 15 says this that the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it and so there is this call that we are to work what God has gifted us that there were no shrubs and there were no plants because there was no one to work the land and no one to water it that God created all of these things Genesis would give us the account of creation and we'll see all the things that God created but there was a missing piece and that missing piece was humankind that there was not increase on the land until there was someone to work the land and so it has been God's design from the beginning of time to bring us to a place where we would partner with him we see the creation story in Genesis 2 and the fall happens in Genesis 3 they're given this mandate but somehow they get away from the original plan and design of God they sin against God and they are taken out of Eden and we see this story in Genesis 4 of Cain and Abel and after Cain and Abel story we see that the flood takes place there's so much wickedness in the world that God says I'm going to do away with the world but save Noah and his family and then the Genesis account continues with the Tower of Babel the wickedness of men continues once again and their goal is to build a tower to reach the heavens God scatters them across the Earth and then we are introduced to the Patriarchs Abraham Isaac and Jacob and through the patriarch God gives a promise and he says this in Genesis 12:3 All Nations will be blessed through you and as we continue on into this Genesis narrative Abraham Isaac Jacob Jacob has a son named Joseph who was put into slavery in Egypt and there were prosperous times for a moment in Egypt but the Israelites they had grew in number so much so that the Egyptians were intimidated and so they were enslaved this is where it brings us to The Exodus story God raises up a voice named Moses to be a deliverer for those who are oppressed that he delivers them out of the oppression of Egypt and he takes them across the Red Sea Into the Wilderness and he yet again gives them another promise in Exodus he says you will be for me a kingdom of priests a holy nation these are the words you are to speak to the Israelites so he gives them this mandate two promises that they're holding on to the first promise is that all nations will be blessed through them and the second promise given here that he has called them to be a kingdom of priests and it is in the Book of Leviticus that they give the they are given the manual of how to live out the priesthood and this is not a mandate or a calling that is just a Old Testament idea in 1 Peter 2 and9 it says say that we are a royal priesthood God's holy nation his special possession that he has called us out of Darkness into his marvelous life and so there is this mandate there is this call that has been throughout all of scripture throughout the beginning of time that all nations would be blessed through those who follow Jesus and that he would call us to be a kingdom of priests and so what he does with his people he says that I'm promising you to give you a land but the land that he gives them is not just isolated in the corner but he gives them a land in a specific location this land of Canaan we he is described as the land that is Flowing with milk and honey this land is the land that all Commerce has to go through all culture has to go through and this is how they live out the promise All Nations will be blessed through them because all nations have to go through the land that he has given them but what he tells them is this that I am putting you in the middle of culture but I'm calling you to be different than culture so that you can impact culture and so he desires for us to be in a in the middle of a dying and broken world but for us to look different and to sound different so we can impact the world around us in the Book of Leviticus which is the manual for them to understand how to live out their calling of a priesthood he gives them Specific Instructions in Leviticus 25 he says this the Lord said to Moses at the Mount Si speak to the Israelites and say to them when you enter the land I am going to give you the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the Lord for six years SE your fields and for six years prune your Vineyards and gather their crops but in the seventh year the land is to have a year of Sabbath rest a Sabbath to the Lord and the purpose of the Sabbath year is to remind them that someone can plant someone can water but it is God that brings the increase the Sabbath rest is a reminder that it is not all on me that I trust the Divine timing of God if there is a season where he tells me to rest I can still trust that he will produce even while I'm at rest and so he speaks to a fear that the Israelites have that he says that I know that you won't plant in the seventh year and you might ask what will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops and this is what the Lord responds to them I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years and this is what he says while you are planting during the eighth year you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the Harvest of the ninth year comes in and so I just want to let somebody in the room know that we are sitting in a harvest that we didn't even plant that as we are in the ninth year we are still eating of a harvest that was planted in year one when we said make space it was planted in year 2 when we said it was a miracle in motion it was planted in year three when we said stand firm it was planted in year four when we said Brick by Brick and year five when we said Play The Long g game and year six when we said for the sake of Eternity and in the Sabbath year when we said thus far the Lord has blessed me and year eight we said we would wait and in year nine we have declared we will be the Harvest hands that we will continue to sew we will continue to plant and we will continue to water and so what I want to let you know is that there is a prophetic picture that God is showing us that the Israelites were still able to eat from what God produced on his own up until year nine see when they planted in year 1 it was only good enough for year one and when they planted in year two it was only good enough for year two but something about the year that God stepped into and said I don't even need you to do anything it produced for them enough fruit for 3 years this is what God can do and so in order for us to see a harvest in order for us to live out the vision that is on the wall and live out the vision that we are speaking here is the word of the Lord you you have got to continue planting this is not the season to be complacent this is not the season to be casual with your prayer life this is not the season to be casual with your church attendance this is not the season to be casual with your giving because there is a harvest that God desires for you to be a part of and so we've got to go back to the original instruction he said sew your Fields that's how we reach the loss he said prune your Vineyards this is how you train the believer and then he says reap their crops and impact the city and so I don't know about you but I want to align myself to the word of the Lord I don't want to miss out with what God's going to do in 2025 and so I get myself in alignment and I will plant where I need to plant I'll water when I need to water because I'm not missing out on the Harvest the Harvest is plentiful but the workers are few and you have to choose in 2025 who you're going to work for because at the end of the day we will end up working for someone but I don't know about you but I decide that I'm going to work for the kingdom of God I'm not going to let the enemy steal my time I'm not going to let the enemy steal my gift I'm not going to let the enemy steal my purpose I won't let him steal my worship I won't let him steal my Joy I'm signed up to work for the kingdom of God and so all over this room with everyone standing I want to pray because God is preparing a harvest like you have never seen before and The Time Is Now for you to step into all that God has called you to be that you do not want to be on the sideline in this season this is not this the year to do exactly what you did in 2024 this is the year for you to develop your ear to hear from God this is the year for you to seek him like you never have before God desires to use you but he breathes on you he breathes on that seed he breathes on what you do with your Kronos time and he aligns it to what he would do in his cyos and so Lord we pray that as we get ready to enter into a new year and as we get ready to enter into a new season that Lord that you would give us the strength to plant may we be like Paul may we be like Apollos may we plant may we water God give us the understanding of the season and the times that we are in God give us a burden for the lost help us to desire your presence above any everything else God may we be a church that will pre preach and teach the gospel that in our individual lives that we would carry the truth of your gospel everywhere we go Lord I pray that you would speak to Hearts today people who have been on the sidelines that this would be the season that they would sign up to be a part of the Harvest that God would you use use our hands would you use our creative ideas would you use our finances would you would you use every part of us so that a city and a nation and a world can be impacted For Your Glory