This month in the New Bus we present a special word for the next year and decade . . .

Massive Harvest

This past month, the  founder of Christ for All Nations, Reinhard Bonnke, passed away after decades of fruitful ministry. At a young age God placed a vision on his heart to see the continent of Africa “washed in the precious blood of Jesus.” Since then, Reinhard saw millions of Africans turn their hearts to the name and glory of Jesus. Of course, last year we lost another incredible evangelist, the Reverend Billy Graham, who passed away at the age of 99. Graham’s influence on the world was also astounding as he too touched millions of people with the Gospel of Christ.

I believe that both of these men are like fallen seeds in the ground that will multiply into a harvest of harvesters in this next season. The decade of 2020 to 2030 is truly a time of massive harvest. But in talking about this, we need to understand a little bit more about the biblical concept of “harvest” . . .

Jesus spoke about the harvest in connection to the emergence of mature grains of wheat (Mark 4:28). Jesus compared Himself to a grain of wheat that fell into the ground in order to be multiplied into new mature grains (John 12:24). This means that the “harvest” is really about the multiplication of the life of Christ. In other words, it is Christ manifesting His glory through human beings. The great harvest thus includes a truly Christlike church, as well as nations awakening to their true identity in God.

A Prophetic Dream

A little over ten years ago, one of our dear subscribers and supporters, Roland Bauer, had a dream that he shared with my wife and I when we came over his house to present a vision God had given us. The vision concerned a strategy to reach the youth of our community. He had the dream just the night before and so we believed God had given it to him to shine light upon what we were there to discuss.

In the dream, he saw a ship out at sea throwing large nets into the water which were pulling in massive amounts of fish. Each of these nets were connected by rope to an “eye-hook” on the side of the ship. As he watched this happening, he grew very concerned that at any moment the nets would break. It seemed they were holding too many fish. But they did not break! The fish came onto the deck safely. And that was all of the dream . . .

Upon processing the dream, one trusted prophetic friend of mine suggested that the eye-hook could represent a “fixed vision.” Or, you might say a “steadfast vision.” I now believe it represents an awakened church “seeing” correctly, and through their vision, bringing in the harvest that is at our doorstep. Though this dream was from 10 years ago, I believe this next decade is the moment of its manifestation.

The Vision that Will Release the Harvest

The prophetic connection between “20/20 vision” and the coming year has perhaps been a little overdone. HOWEVER, there is a significant element of truth that we need to hone in on and take hold of. There is indeed clear vision coming forth like never before. Here are two key things that we will now “see” with untold clarity:

Our identity as believers in Christ…

…the world’s identity as God’s beloved children. 

The man who saw the valuable treasure in the field gave up everything he had to buy that field (Matt. 13:44-46). This was not a sacrifice to him. It was simply the wise overflow of passionate excitement to invest in something that appeared “plain” on the outside, yet contained untold wealth beneath the surface. He simply knew this in his heart, and acted accordingly.

Those who see the treasure of Christ will engage in a seemingly effortless display of radical love. They will pour out their lives into those who look like “plain” fields, yet they will confidently know what gems and wealth lies underneath

There is a harvest this decade . . . and it will be intricately tied to the vision of grace that has been building in the church over this past decade. 2010 to 2020 saw a massive explosion of grace-revelation amongst the Body of Christ. More than any other time in history, revelation about identity and the finished work of Christ spread across the world (much through the help of the internet). But this was never meant to stay in a closed box of theological ranting. It was meant to produce an abundant harvest – the manifestation of Christ in us, and the harvesting of the lost fields of humanity.

Be prepared for the Holy Spirit to illuminate your vision like never before. Be prepared for a new wave of evangelism that will be driven by grace and love. Be truly excited about a glorious harvest and ask God to keep your heart in the place of absolute joy and intimacy in the midst of it!

Amen!