It was the 28th anniversary of the City Harvest Church. The service started with beautiful praise and worship. The Presence of God was beautiful during worship. The theme of the message was from Song of Solomon 2:10
My beloved spoke, and said to me:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
- We need to come away into deeper hunger for Jesus.
Hunger is a sign of physical and spiritual growth. When it comes to spiritual growth, God wants us to be full and hungry at the same time. In the spiritual realm, the more you eat, the hungry you become. The more you come away hungrier, you will be with Jesus.
Deuteronomy 8:3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
The Hebrew word manna literally means “what is it”. God wants us to trust Him for “What is it”. The more we are in His Presence, hungrier we will be for Him. Will you be hungry for God? Hunger in us pulls Heaven’s atmosphere in to our environment. If you want to see breakthrough then you need to be hungry for God. You and I carry God’s Presence.
- God’s calling us to come away for higher calling.
Matthew 4:18-20 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
The nets indicate our security. The call of God is destructive to what we are used to and comfortable with. To come into higher calling, requires us to cast away our own net. You are standing on the foundations of people who left their nets.
John 21:6-7
6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.
- Come Away into All of Him
Tale of 3 Trees : Olive, Oak & Pine trees ~ Joel Osteen
Each of these trees had a great dream to become something special in life. The olive tree dreamed of becoming a finely crafted treasure chest. It wanted to hold gold, silver, and precious jewels. One day a woodsman chose the one olive tree, out of all the trees in the forest, and cut it down. The olive tree was so thrilled. But as the craftmen began working on him, the tree realized they weren’t making him into a beautiful treasure chest; they were making him into a manger to hold food for dirty, smelly animals. Heartbroken, his dreams were shattered. He felt worthless and demeaned.
Similarly, the oak tree dreamed of becoming part of a huge ship that would carry important kings across the ocean. When the woodsman cut down the oak, he was so excited. But as time went on, he realized the craftsmen weren’t making him into a huge ship. They were making him into a tiny fishing boat. He was so discouraged, so disappointed.
The pine tree lived on top of a high mountain. Its only dream was to always stand tall and remind people of God’s great creation. But in a split second, a bolt of lightening sent it tumbling to the ground, destroying its dreams. The woodsman came and picked it up and carried it off to the scrap pile.
All three of these trees felt they had lost their value and their worth; they were so discouraged, so disappointed. Not one of their dreams had come to pass. But God had other plans for these trees. Many years later, Mary and Joseph couldn’t find any place to give birth to their little baby boy. They finally found a stable, and when Jesus was born they placed Him in a manger made from-you guessed it- the olive tree. The olive tree had wanted to hold precious jewels, but the God had better plans, and it now held the greatest treasure of all time, the Son of God.
A few years went by and Jesus grew up. One day He needed a boat to cross to the other side of the lake. He didn’t choose a large, fancy ship; He chose a small, simple fishing boat made from-you guessed it-the oak tree. The oak tree wanted to carry important kings across the ocean, but God had better plans. The oak now carried the King of kings.
A few more years went by, and one day some Roman soldiers were rummaging around in the pile of scrap wood where the discarded pine tree lay. That pine tree just knew they were coming to cut him up for firewood. That much to its surprise, they cut only two small pieces out of it and formed them into a cross. And it was on this pine tree that Jesus was crucified. That tree is still pointing people to God’s love and God’s compassion to this day.
The point of the story is : All three trees thought they had lost their value, that their stories were over, yet they became integral parts of the greatest story ever told.
Like these trees, we may not fully comprehend what we are going through as a Church or individual, but in the end God will turn it up for His Glory.
The service ended with beautiful worship. The Anointing of God was awesome.
Praise God !
