The Starting Point Of The Last Harvest

Read: Mark 5:1–20

II Corinthians 6:1–10

The events that are taking place on the earth at this time and the witness of the Spirit of God among believers everywhere point to the fact that the hour of judgment is all but here. The earth is on the verge of things it has never seen. There has never been a war like the war that will break out on this planet when the Lamb begins to open those seven seals.

But before God's judgment falls, this earth is going to see the love of God as it has never seen the love of God before. Jesus is going to cover this planet with such wonderful manifestations of God's grace that one will be puzzled to understand why the whole world doesn't fall to its knees and repent in dust and ashes.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is going to go forth so mightily and is going to be attended by such magnificent signs of God's love that you'd think everyone would surrender his life into the hands of the Messiah.

This gospel of the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)

In fact, this last visitation of Jesus to the earth has already begun. And in many ways it is like Jesus' visit to the country of the Gerasenes in Mark 5. Jesus' landing point on the earth at this hour is where it was that day. He always begins in the most desolate place there is.

If He cares about this place, and if He cares about this man who came to Him out of those tombs, you know He cares about everyone.

Those tombs are not like Forest Hills Memorial Park with fountains and statues and neatly-cut grass. They are caves in a bleak, wild, sad countryside. There are swine feeding on the hill – unclean beasts. Here comes this man with an unclean spirit who lives among the tombs. No one could restrain him. Time and again they chained him to keep him from running wild but he always broke away. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying and bruising himself with stones. Don't ever think that when a man is possessed by an unclean spirit his own mind is dormant.

– There is no rest for his mind.

– He lives through Hell – the nearest thing to Hell there is on earth.

– He knows what it is to weep and gnash his teeth.

– He knows what it is to sit in the outer darkness where there is no hope.

Jesus starts with such a man.

How many people on the earth right now are living in just such a state here,

– nobody seems to be able to help them,

– nothing can restrain them any longer.

They roam in a desolate world of their own. They live among the tombs of a dead past. And on the mountains of despair, they keep trying to hurt themselves, maybe not with stones, maybe just by forever getting themselves in trouble or getting sick all the time.

These people are on every block in our neighborhood and every neighborhood across your town. They're on the street where you live. They may be under the same roof with you. Some of these tormented souls could be reading these words –

and it is to these that Jesus comes first.

And it is these people who recognize Jesus before anyone else does.

And when he saw Jesus from afar he ran and worshipped Him; and crying with a loud voice he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus Son of the most high God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." For he had said to him, "Come out of the man you unclean spirit!" And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many." And he begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged Him, ''Send us into the swine, let us enter them." So He gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about 2000, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.

The visit of Jesus to the earth at this eleventh-hour is making its impact by healing the demon-possessed people who, like that man, have been living through all the agonies of Hell. Maybe it's drugs. Maybe it's alcohol. Maybe it's some morbid fear or some guilt that just won't leave.

They see Jesus from afar – they run and worship Him. Suddenly the demons are gone and they are sitting at Jesus' feet clothed and in their right mind.

We're seeing this. Many of us are here today because this has happened to us. And we are going to see much more.

It only took one such sign in that desolate place to rouse the whole country. Jesus didn't have to go into town to proclaim the Kingdom of God. The men who had been herding those swine took care of it.

The herdsman fled and told it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that happened (and they're doing it again).

And they came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had had Legion; and they were afraid.

If only those people had been afraid with the fear of God! If only they had fallen on their faces and worshipped as that man had done!

If only they had turned, what blessings would have come to their land!

God the Son was standing in their midst with life for every one of those people – standing among them to spare them forever the agonies that poor tormented man had gone through. Never had the love of God been so clearly revealed among them.

So what do they do? They say, "Please go away. You're disturbing our way of life. You're disrupting our economy." And that, my friends, is exactly what this world is doing now and will continue to be doing right up to the last second of this age of grace.

"Please go away Jesus. We don't want you around here."

You'd think that parents would rejoice to see their kids set free from the junk they were strung out on and following Jesus. But again and again these parents are ten times more upset by Jesus than they were ever upset by the drugs.

"Where have I gone wrong! My kid's a fanatic!"

What were you saying when your kid was a junkie? They want Jesus to leave, so Jesus gets into the boat and leaves. He will not force His love on anyone.

After He has covered this earth with the good news and the earth says, "Leave", He will leave. And there will be such a famine of the Word of God as earth has never seen. But even in the midst of the famine Jesus will still have a witness: the man who was healed.

And as He was getting into the boat the man who had been possessed with demons begged Him that he might be with Him. But He refused and said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. (They won't let me tell them about God's love – so you tell them)". And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.

Now there is one difference between Jesus' visit to the country of the Gerasenes and His visit to this lost generation of the sons of Adam. In that day He came as a man in a single body of flesh-and-blood. Today, Jesus is visiting the earth in the Spirit… inhabiting a Body made up of countless flesh-and-blood people from every nation, race, and tongue under Heaven. The people who comprise this Body are not those who merely profess Jesus with their lips or who are tied up with some fellowship or some church.

The people who comprise the Body of Christ which is now visiting the earth with real healing are not like the so-called Christians who have cluttered the earth and jammed up the churches for centuries. The people who are getting the job done are people who are like Jesus – really like Jesus.

They don't have a "Jesus front." They have a "Jesus heart." They are like Jesus inside because Jesus, in fact, lives in them and rules their lives.If you want to know what these people are like, read II Corinthians 6. This is not just a description of the apostle Paul – it better be a description of you and me!

The people who are carrying the gospel to this last generation are like Jesus in that they put no obstacle in anyone's way.

"We put no obstacle in anyone's way", says Paul.

The Pharisees put their self-righteousness in the way of other men finding God. The great theologians put their great learning in the way of other men finding God – they make you think you have to be a genius to find God. Respectable Christians put their respectability in the way of other people finding God – they give the impression that you have to be respectable like they are to find God.

The institutional people put the institution in the way of people finding God. The non-institutional people put their institutional hang-up in the way of people finding God. The high pressure evangelist puts his very methods in the way of other people really finding God and beautiful gifted believers often put their egos in the way.

If you want to be used by Jesus at this hour, you'd better be sure that there is nothing in your heart or in your living that stands in the way of other men finding God.

Don't make men see your righteousness or your knowledge or your hypocrisy.

Make them see Jesus! Give them hope!

Those who are being lifted into this eleventh-hour Body ministry are like Jesus in that they are servants of God. "As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way",

not to the high and mighty –

not to the important people, but to this demon-possessed man – so that he knows that we come to him as God's

servant, that he has nothing to fear.

The big-time Christian celebrities are useless in this area – their big egos frighten that demon-possessed man right back into the tombs. We need servants!

– men and women who have given up all rights to themselves and live only to serve God in God's way – in whatever crummy little place God chooses to put them, so that when this man comes out of the tombs he can really see

Jesus and not our stinking flesh.

Those who are being lifted up into this eleventh-hour Body ministry are like Jesus in that they practice great endurance.

''Through great endurance in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beating, imprisonments, tumults, labors....."

day-in-and-day-out to deal with these demon-harassed souls in one form or another, and with swineherds who get uptight when their pigs run down the hill and drown, and with the people who show no awe, no gratitude, no faith, and to keep right on going even though they begin treating you as an imposter – even when they start trying to kill you,

– you can't give up because you're tired,

– you can't give up because someone hurt your feelings.

In honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute, as imposters and yet true, as unknown yet well-known, as dying and behold we live, as punished and not killed. As sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich. As having nothing yet possessing all things.

To keep right on going no matter what they think you are or what they do to you.

The Spirit of the Lord is gathering people for this eleventh-hour ministry. People who will go with Him to those desolate tombs and bring healing to those desolate souls – and be hated and rejected by the very ones to whom they announce good news.

If you hear Jesus calling you today answer Him with all your heart, and He will make you ready for work that you never dreamed you would ever be able to do.

One more thing;

If there should be someone reading these words whose heart is crying out for deliverance and peace, just open your heart to God now. Our prayers were said for you, and God will answer them. The crucified and risen Lord Jesus will set you free, beginning now.