2025: Seed, Time, and (Supernatural) Harvest

Sacred Season is here!

Sacred Season is a specific time for our church family to put first things first. We acknowledge God as our priority by fasting those things that are not sacred to demonstrate our desire for the Lord! The Israelites demonstrated a similar devotion when bringing their first fruits offerings to God and committing themselves to sacred assemblies.

During the feast of Bikkurim and that of Shavuot, the Jews would bring in the first and best of their harvests as offerings to bless the Lord. We are starting our 2025 off right: We are giving God the first part of our year, dedicating ourselves to prayer, worship, bible study, fasting, and generosity.

It’s important we refocus as we move forward into the new year. God honors our faith with the greatest gift; we become more aware of His presence and voice. This 21-day WS First church fasting, and prayer season is special.

Please consider what/how you would like to fast from now until January 26, 2025:

1. Daniel Fast: eliminating meat and sweets/alcohol from your diet.
2. Liquid Fast: soups and shakes only.
3. Media Fast: eliminating social media/entertainment.
4. Sunup to Sundown: eating only predawn and after dusk.
5. Modified Fast: a personal sacrifice that releases your time for prayer.
6. One Meal: give up one meal per day for prayer and scripture study.

We will pray each day from 12 noon to 1 pm in the auditorium. All are welcome!
We will have a concert of worship and prayer each Wednesday evening starting at 6 pm
We will have a night of worship, prayer, and healing on Friday, January 24, 2025 at 6 pm

This is a time to join our church family in prayer. You may come and go as you please as we collectively seek God. If you cannot depart from your workplace to attend our prayer gatherings, please feel free to join us from your location as we pray across distances and boundaries.

Next Sunday! We will come together to culminate the fast for Sacred Sunday! Sacred Sunday is our ceremonial service where we celebrate all God has done and will do in our lives. We bring our Sacrificial Sacred Seed offerings to the Lord and receive an anointing and blessing from the pastors as we give! It’s powerful!

In 2022: Our Theme was “Moving Forward in Faith!” and our proclamation was “Let’s Go!”

In 2023: Our Theme was “Arise and Shine!” and our proclamation was “Arise!”

In 2024: Our Theme was “Unity and Peace!” and our proclamation was “Together!”
For 2025: Our Theme is “Seed, Time and Supernatural Harvest!” and our proclamation is “Harvest!”

Today, let’s talk about harvest:

So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

So our example of an abundant and productive life has been demonstrated. 6 days of labor are good…but one day is to be set aside for spiritual, familial, and social renewal. 7 days of labor? Not good!

This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil. Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land. Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.

God prepared the soil for His first crop…Humanity! God used the dirt and water of the earth to create you! You are the first hand-formed feature in scripture! (All of your distinctive features are crafted by your Creator)

Then He breathes the Breath of Life into you! God’s breath! You are the only creature the word declares God breathed into! Think about this: It was like we are these cool little Claymation creatures, and then God makes room for life by breathing into us…but then, Jesus came in the New Testament to breathe on us again:

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. John 20:19-22 (NLT)

Just one breath and infinite generations of humans were initiated. Just think of the immensity of the power of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling! The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead now dwells in us! Why? Just wait…there’s more!

Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made…

Hebrew: The word Eden (עֵדֶן) is often translated to mean delight, pleasure, or paradise. It represents a place of abundance, beauty, and happiness. It is a place where God provides all His creatures need and where God communes with humanity in earth’s natural landscape.

…The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Genesis 2:1-9 (NLT)

In the middle of the garden God placed the Tree of Life!

In the middle of the garden God placed the Tree of Life!

In the middle of the garden God placed the Tree of Life!

I needed to say that three times, because like Adam and Eve, we almost always focus on the other tree!

You don’t need to focus so much on right or wrong when you are living your life with divine communion and eternal purpose!

When we get busy doing the right things for the right reasons in our relationship with our Creator, we have little time for sin! But Sin is open for business 24/7…it’s like the most evil convenience store ever…always available for a good fall from any height!

I. You Have an Eternal Purpose (Assignment)

So here we go with God’s marvelous creativity and His creation…EVERYTHING God established has a purpose. You have a purpose! In heaven, on the New Earth, you will continue to have a purpose!

What was the original purpose of humanity? FARMING! Or Groundskeeping Or Caretaking.

But here’s an important point: God did not proclaim the garden, He planted it. He cared about it! He got in there and made something grow…He named regular plants/trees…but He PLANTED the garden!

נָטַע
The Hebrew verb “nata” primarily means “to plant” in the context of placing seeds or plants into the ground to grow. It is used both literally, in reference to agriculture and horticulture, and metaphorically, to describe the establishment or founding of something, such as a nation or a people. The act of planting implies intention, care, and the expectation of growth and fruitfulness. (Strongs 5193)

Then God decided to establish humanity as caretakers of His beautiful, fruitful garden. He created the perfect man and the perfect woman for the task. It seems to me that this job was just the beginning. It was an internship for another work that God wanted them to do.
Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply…” Genesis 1:28 (NLT)

God wanted humanity to grow and expand and cover the earth! He wanted there to be Billions upon Billions upon Billions of people who would know Him, commune with Him, and serve Him…but we messed it up y’all!

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. John 15:1-8 (NLT)

Jesus is sharing with His disciples the powerful impact of salvation through a relationship with Him and the power of His forgiveness through the cross. Notice, the value…FRUIT has to Him? We are yet asked to make an impact…WHAT IS FRUIT? Fruit is the most precious thing to the Lord and His church.

Church, Fruit are people who did not have a relationship with God, coming into that relationship and becoming part of the family (Vine of God).

Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” Matthew 9:35-38 (NLT)

II. You are the Answer to Our Prayers (Intercession)

Our intercession as a church is that the Lord would save people and bring them to us to train for the work of the ministry. We prayed, and God answered…and God’s answer is YOU!

In 2025, God is going to answer our prayers for the harvest. The breakthrough you will discover is not a miracle of provision, but a miracle of produce!

Fruit brings flavor, sustenance, enrichment, and (re) production!

We are going to experience a miracle in our midst this year:

God is bringing: New Flavor, New Strength, New Enrichment, and New Impact!

And all of it is for HIS GLORY!

Not for fame, fortune, bragging, or pride…but for His glory…God is going to do great things in and for you this year! He’s going to do whatever it takes to get you working His harvest!

III. You are a Reaper (Transition to a position of reaping)

A. Put aside our idols.
Busyness is not God’s business. He will help us focus our efforts on eternal matters.
Simplify our lives.
Give Him “Prime Time.”

B. Clean up our tents.
Remove the temptations from our lives
Inspect your home for signs of life (If it’s not life-giving/control or eliminate)
Company is coming over! Invite Jesus to eat/drive/shower/shave with you!

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 (NLT)

Finally…the only way to gain stamina is to push deeper into your weaknesses. Good news! When we are weak He is strong!

C. Exercise our faith.
Ask Him again! Don’t stop pursuing Him! (last year’s sacred seed…)
Ask Him for others!
Ask Him for opportunities…then get into position!

***We often ask God to use our lives or change our lives, but we aren’t ready to make the change or be a part of someone else’s miracle! I wonder how you would respond if you knew your next breakthrough was tied to your neighbors?