The harvest is ripe

Matthew 9:37-38, “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest”.

When fruits in the farmland are ripe, they are meant to be harvested immediately for the actualisation of their usefulness. If for any reason they are not harvested, there are chances of the fruits or the produce spoiling and the usefulness wasted.

In the context of this write-up, the fruits represent human beings, the souls, who are meant to repent from their sins by accepting our Lord Jesus Christ and making heaven at the end of the earthly life. It is rather unfortunate that so many people are out there wallowing in sin without anybody preaching the salvation message to convert them to Christ-like life.

That is why the Bible laments in Joel 3:13-14 saying, “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” There is no need to procrastinate, and believers should prepare their nets, fishing hooks to go into the field for the harvest of souls. There are many people out there waiting to be preached to. Many people living on this planet earth, today, have not fully understood the purpose of their existence and the reason for the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ into the world of humans. Many are on the fence trying to take decision. These people need guidance to wake up from valley of decision and follow Christ. The world events are no longer interesting to many people, and they are seeking our Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of their souls. Hence, they need evangelists, pastors and salvation preachers that will lead them to Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to reconcile the people of the world with God Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and earth and everything therein, including man who was made in God’s likeness and image. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to continue to preach the gospel and win souls for the Kingdom of God.

In John 4:34-37, the Bible says, “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth”. God the Father sent our Lord Jesus Christ Who came to save perishing souls. He was determined to finish the work; hence He has sent us His disciples to continue the work of preaching the gospel till He returns to rapture the saints. The world has need of salvation; they seek for Jesus. Many have come to the realisation that the things of this world have no eternal value; they pass away. The soul will live forever, either in heaven or in hell fire. That is why the Bible queries in Mark 8:36- 37, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul”? Whoever loses his soul has lost all. World possessions are temporary; hence they pass away. The only way to preserve one’s soul for eternal life in heaven is by embracing Jesus Christ, Who will grant him salvation of soul. The apostles and disciples in the Bible days left all and followed Jesus Christ for the sake of the gospel and eternal life. We should not rest on our oars or relent in the preaching of the gospel. The harvest is ripe, and if they are not converted, they might die in their sin of unbelief and end up going to hell fire. The Bible says in Revelation 14:15-18, “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 17 And another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe”. It is not God’s Will that any soul He created should perish, but that all men should come to the knowledge of God and be saved. That is why He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to come and save the world. As He completed the work, He handed over the mandate to His disciples to continue. God is calling on all believers to cast their net in the deep for the harvest of souls. The angels are crying, calling on every believer to go into the outermost part of the earth to preach the gospel and win souls for the Kingdom of God. The trumpet will sound soon, and any soul not harvested while the grace lasts will be lost to the Devil to hell fire. This is not God’s Will for the man He created.

It is also pertinent to note at this point that there is great reward in labouring in the vineyard of God for the purpose of winning souls. Every man in the vineyard will be the first partaker of the fruits. There is reward in harvesting souls for the Lord.

In Mark 10:28-30 the Bible says, “Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life”. The confidence every gospel worker should have at the back of his mind is that God is faithful and will reward bountifully all that will labour in the preaching of the gospel and the harvesting of the souls for the Kingdom of God. They will also have eternal life at the end of this earthly journey.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are converted to win souls by preaching to other people. As the Bible has directed, and based on God’s commandment, we should go all out to preach the gospel. We will surely make heaven at last in Jesus name.

Testimony Of The Lord’s Doing
Set Free From The Den Of Ritual Killers
PS23V4 says “Yea, though l walk through the valley of shadow of death, l will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”

THE above quotation aptly depicts the terrible situation l went through in the hands of ritual killers.

My name is Sis. Martina Chioma Udelue. I reside at Kadiri, Abuja. I joined The Lord’s Chosen in May 2008, and I appreciate God for making me a Chosen.

My first testimony goes thus: In one of the combined vigils, the Pastor asked us to pray and forgive those that offended us, and I did. I also asked God to forgive me of my own sins and within that period, I dreamt and saw myself being operated upon by the Angels of God with the face of The General Overseer of The Lord’s Chosen, and four others wearing the Chosen Apron. At the end of that encounter, I woke up. It happened that I was having stomach problems, which had been tormenting me for five months. At the end of that encounter, the stomach problem disappeared. Praise the Lord!

Secondly, I thank God for using me to save the life of a woman who was in labour. As I prayed for her after a prolonged labour, she was delivered of a bouncing baby boy, to the glory of God.

Finally, I thank God for delivering me from the hands of ritual killers, on my way to a vigil. I boarded a car, which unknown to me, belonged to ritual killers. There were other passengers in the car, and because of this, I had no slightest inclination that the car belonged to ritual killers. It was when I arrived at Dutse in Abuja and wanted to alight, that they revealed their identities to me and threatened my life. At that point, I declared to them that I am a Chosen. I also told them that they would not do anything to me, as I am a Chosen and the daughter of Pastor Lazarus Muoka, The G.O. of Chosen. I continued to shout this in their ears, as they did not want to drop me.

Eventually, they took us to a particular place and ushered us into a house. In that particular house, it was difficult to distinguish between day and night. They took us to the place on Friday night and by midnight the following day (Saturday), they brought us out and told us that it was time for us to go. It was at that time that I realised that the four of us that boarded that car were held captive— two males and two females. Among the four of us, I was the only one shouting to be released. It was at this point that the other persons started crying. They now asked us to say our last prayers and I replied that I had prayed and could not say any last prayer, because I am a Chosen and the daughter of Pastor Lazarus Muoka, and so nothing would happen to me. They told me that I was disturbing them.

When my colleagues finished saying their last prayers, they lined us up. I was the second person on the queue. They called the first person, who was a man, and cut off his head. They came to me and I shouted that I am a Chosen! I am a Chosen! I am the daughter of Pastor Lazarus Muoka. I shouted that severally to the extent that they told me I was disturbing them. Without delay, I was taken backward. In my presence, they executed the remaining two persons by cutting off their heads. Again, they came back to me, and with a loud voice I repeated who l am.

At this juncture, their Leader came out and queried, “Who is disturbing us?” They told him that I was the one and he looked at me, went in. When he came back, he ordered them to leave me for my pastor to come and release me from their enclave. It was at this point that the man who brought us to the place, took me to the gate and asked, “Are you a Chosen?” I answered in the affirmative. He told me to stay there, and they would see whether that my God would come to deliver me from their hands or my Pastor would come to rescue me. Otherwise, I would remain there and no one would know my whereabouts.

I did not know what to do, but I saw a stone, which I sat on and started weeping. I cried and called on God of Chosen to come to my rescue. As I was lamenting that night, I saw the flashlight of a car. As the car approached the spot where I was sitting, the driver lowered the glass of the car door and I stood up from where I was sitting. The car was pure white, with neither a stain nor a spot. The man in the car asked me to come in, but I refused initially. I was afraid to follow him, to avoid a repeat of what I experienced in the hands of the ritual killers. At a point, I was convicted to join him. When I wanted to join him in the front seat, he asked me to go to the back seat. Even though I got into the car, my mind was not at rest.

At intervals, I kept saying that I am a Chosen, I am a Chosen, and the daughter of Pastor Lazarus Muoka. While saying all this, the man was just smiling and never uttered a word. At a point, I got tired of shouting that I am a Chosen and my spirit asked me to leave him alone. All this while, I did not tell him where I was going to. I was, however, surprised when he dropped me at my bus stop and asked me to come down. Initially, I did not know that I was at my bus stop, until I came down and he drove off.

My brothers and sisters, that was how the Angel of God that works with Chosen came to take me out of the den of ritual killers and I walked out into freedom. To God be the glory. Praise the Lord!

Sis. Martina Chioma Udelue, Kadiri, Abuja.