Harvest Blockers II - Psa 115:16
November 6, 2022
why haven’t you received harvest… could be something blocking it… lack of knowledge and unbelief are two of the biggest harvest destroyers…
Hos 4:6… “My people are destroyed by lack of knowledge and rejected knowledge…”
Eph 4:18… “excluded from life… because of lack of knowledge… hard heart…”
difference between doubt and stubborn unbelief… doubt still looks for light, unbelief is content with darkness… unbelief is listening to devil and not God… unbelief is disobedience… unbelief is lack of trust and rest in God… devil can do nothing in our lives without unbelief… one other huge harvest blocker to look at today… beware… goes against our etp… pray…
Mark 3:3-6… “is it lawful to heal on Sabbath… with anger, grieved by hard hearts…”
Mark 9:24… “I do believe, help my unbelief…”
Eph 4:18… “they were full of darkness… wandered from God… because of unbelief…”
Heb 4:11… “labor to enter rest… so no one will fall into unbelief/disobedience…”
We battle unbelief by the word. Unbelief is the essence of evil. All our sinning grows out of unbelief in the living God and what He has promised us in Scripture. —John Piper
who is in control of this earth… I do not believe it is God… yet, I’ve heard that God is in control hundreds and hundreds of times… most often when people go thru difficulty…
God gave me sickness… God took my child… God wants me poor… God is in control.
as gently, yet as boldly, as I can… those statements are simply not true… God is NOT the author of any kind of evil… and He has chosen to NOT be in control of earth… or you…
Psa 115:16… “the heavens are the Lord’s… but the earth He has given to man…”
John 12:31… “now the ruler of this world will be cast out…”
2Cor 4:4… “the god of this world… has blinded the minds of those who do not believe…”
Eph 2:2… “used to follow ways of world… obeyed ruler of power in this world…”
1John 5:19… “the whole world lies under the control of the evil one…”
kosmos… ungodly multitude; men alienated from God and hostile to Christ…
not ungodly multitude… not alienated from God… not hostile to Christ anymore… unbelief put us under enemy control… belief in Jesus delivers and rescues us from that…
Rom 8:31-39… “in all these things we are more than conquerors thru Christ…”
1Cor 15:57… “thanks be to God… who gives us victory thru our Lord Jesus…”
1John 3:8… “the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil…”
1John 5:5… “who conquers the world… but the one who believes in Jesus…”
God gave us authority, we gave it to devil… God gave us freedom, we traded it for slavery… God gave us life, health, goodness, we let devil steal it… we usually take credit for the good stuff… yet often blame God for bad… God is not thief… He only brings good to us…
John 10:10… “thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy… I came to bring abundant life…”
Gal 5:1… “for freedom, Christ set us free… don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery…”
James 1:17… “every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above…”
is God sovereign, yes… but we generally take that to believe He is in control… that is one of devil’s biggest lies… and honestly, if God is in control… He’s doing a lousy job…
sovereign… paramount; supreme rank, power, authority; greatest in degree; utmost…
if God is in control… we’re just puppets… free will is a lie… church is a waste of time… prayer is meaningless… evangelism is useless… actions are irrelevant… interestingly… sovereign does not appear in most literal translations of the bible… added in NIV…
KJV, NKJV, ASV, YLT – 0 NASV, CSB – 1 NIV – 303 NLT – 294
*Deut 3:24 NIV* … “O Sovereign Lord… You have begun to show Your greatness…”
Deut 3:24 KJV… “Lord (Adonai Jehovah) God… have begun to show Your greatness…”
yes, God is supreme rank, power, authority, greatest in degree, utmost… but nowhere in that definition does it say He is in control… pastor/president/parent in charge, but not control…
people who are confused on sovereignty often believe everything that happens on earth is God’s will… simply not true… even the God of the universe doesn’t always get His way…
Gen 2-3… “must not eat of the tree… she took some fruit and ate it…”
John 10:10; 5:40… “I have come to bring you life… yet you refuse to come to me for life…”
1Tim 2:4 / Rev 21… “God wants all to be saved… but the fate of some will be lake of fire…”
Rev 3:19; 16:11… “as many as I love, repent… they blamed God, but did not repent…”
Not everything that happens is God’s will. If everything that happens is God’s will… then it’s God’s will for me to tell you that not everything that happens is His will. —Dr Paul Ellis
love involves choice… God’s perfect plan is to bless you… but He lets you choose your way… lack of knowledge and unbelief about who God really is block those blessings…
Deut 30:19… “set before you life and death… blessing and curse… you choose…”
Jer 29:11… “I know the plans I have for you… for good, peace, future, hope…”
1Thess 5:18 GSV… “God’s will, purpose, wish… is to bless you thru Christ…”
even if you don’t believe God is in control… why did God allow this is bad question… if He allowed it, He could have prevented it… that leads to a path of darkness and unbelief far from God… how are You going to deliver, save, rescue me from this is a better question…
Gen 3… “did you eat from tree… the woman You gave me… the serpent deceived me…”
blame game started with 1st sin… devil steals and we blame God… not fleeing, because we don’t fight… you’re not stuck… God has given you power, use it… Jesus didn’t sit around powerless… blaming God for all those He made sick… used authority God had given Him…
Acts 10:38… “Jesus went around doing good… healing all under the power of devil…”
John 14:12… “one who believes in Me will do even greater works than I do…”
Acts 1:8… “you will receive power when HS comes upon you…”
James 4:7… “resist (actively fight against) the devil and he will flee from you…”
when we talk about sovereignty and control… sickness, suffering, pain always creep in… God is trying to get my attention, teach me something, draw me close… then why go to the doctor, take medicine, try to get better… if that draws us closer to God… shouldn’t we pray to get sick… pray for others to be in pain, suffer… sickness is always curse, never blessing…
Deut 28:15-68… “all these curses… diseases… severe and lingering illnesses…”
believing God is in control eliminates personal responsibility… turns us into passive victims and not victorious children… stops harvest… working all things for good is totally different than allowing bad stuff so good can result… suffering and pain can draw us to God, but its always temporary… as soon as trouble quits, so do we… goodness keeps us forever…
Psa 23:6… “goodness and love will follow me all my life… dwell in Your house forever…”
Rom 2:4… “the goodness of God is intended to lead you to repentance…”
Rom 8:28… “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him…”
ultimately, if God is in control… He is source of all our suffering… and if He is… it pushes us away, not draws us closer… lack of knowledge keeps us from only One who can help…
Heb 4:16… “approach throne of grace… receive mercy and grace to help us in time of need…”
God is sovereign… supreme in power and authority… but gives us freedom to choose who or what controls our lives… when you understand that… you will bring in your harvest… pray…
Gal 5:22-25… “when HS controls… He produces… follow HS leading in every area of life…”