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[ Silence ] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] ♪ If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪

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♪ If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪ ♪ Take my hands, Lord, I have my feet ♪ ♪ Touch my heart, Lord, and speak to me ♪ ♪ If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪

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If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me. If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me. Take my hands, Lord, and my feet. Touch my heart, Lord, speak to me.

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If you can use anything Lord, you can use me. I remember a story in the Bible days. You took a man called Moses with a rod in his hand. Told Moses, "Take the rod in your hand, and stretch it forth, and walk on dry land.

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If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me. Use me, Jesus, use me." If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me. Oh, take my hand, Lord.

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If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me. Oh, take my hand. Take my hand, Lord. I'm at my feet.

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Touch my heart. Touch my heart, Lord. Speak to me. If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me.

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I remember her story, I remember it well. You took a shepherd boy, David, with a sling in his hand. He took the rock with the sling in his hand. ♪ He flung the rock and the giant fell dead ♪

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♪ And if you can use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪ ♪ Take my hand, take my hand ♪ ♪ And my feet ♪ ♪ Lord, speak through me ♪

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♪ If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪ ♪ If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪ ♪ Use me, Jesus, in your service ♪ ♪ If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪

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♪ Oh, Lord, attack my heart ♪ ♪ Touch my heart, Lord, heart and body ♪ ♪ Touch my heart, Lord, speak through me ♪ ♪ If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪

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♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪ ♪ Use me in your service, Jesus, use me ♪ ♪ If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪

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♪ Use me for your glory, dear Jesus, take my hand ♪ ♪ Take my hand, Lord, and help me ♪ ♪ Oh, touch my stony heart ♪ ♪ Touch my heart, Lord, speak to me ♪

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♪ And if you can use ♪ ♪ Use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪ ♪ Oh, take my hand, take my hand, Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪

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♪ That's my prayer today, dear Jesus ♪ ♪ If you can use anything, Lord ♪ ♪ If you can use anything, Lord, you can use me ♪ ♪ Use me ♪

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[music] The eighth chapter, verses 18 through 21. When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.

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Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people, because of them that dwell in a far country. Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her king in her?

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Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images and their strange vanities? The harvest is past. The summer is ended.

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And we are not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt. I am black. Astonishment hath taken

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hold on me. This is the Word of the Lord. Let us stand as we sing together a hymn of praise and consecration. Hymn number 392, "Bringing in the Sheaves."

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[ Music ] Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness, Sowing in the noontide and the duty eve, Waiting for the harvest and the time of reaping,

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We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the seed. Bringing in the seed, bringing in the seed, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the seas, bringing in the seas, bringing in the seas. We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the seas.

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[Music] [ Music ] Bringing in the seed, bringing in the seeds, bringing in the seeds. We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the seed, bringing in the seeds, bringing in the seeds.

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We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the seed. [singing] ♪ So we'll sing ♪ ♪ So we'll sing for the master ♪

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♪ Though the law sustained our spirit often free ♪ ♪ When our weeping's over ♪ ♪ We'll hear the sound of ♪ ♪ We shall come rejoicing ♪

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♪ Bringing in the seas ♪ ♪ Bringing in the seas ♪ ♪ Bringing in the seas ♪ ♪ We shall come rejoicing ♪

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Bringing in the shoes, bringing in the shoes, bringing in the shoes. Grace and Kindred God send, bringing in the shoes. Let us pray. Speak to our hearts, O God, and grant that we may hear in the

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strong and perfect name of Jesus. Amen. The harvest is The summer is ended and we are not saved. The subject, when harvest is over. The preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes expresses the wisdom of the ages when he says, "For

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everything there is a season, a time for everything under heaven, a time to plant and a time to uproot. Jeremiah expresses dismay over the way the nation has used the time given to them. There is a liturgical calendar, a rhythm of the seasons, including seed time and harvest.

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Spring, summer, autumn, and winter. These are the seasons by which we are to order our lives. our lives. The Hebrew people celebrated certain religious

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festivals which were related to the rhythm of the seasons. When they moved from being nomads to being an agricultural people

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they celebrated the feast of in gathering is one of the festivals time of thanksgiving to God for the harvest

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Jeremiah uses the imagery of harvest and his description of the spiritual condition of the nation He says, "Harvest is past, summer is ended, and we are not saved."

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Since Adam and Eve left Eden, human existence has been conditioned by the seasons and influenced by the produce of the field. Seed time and harvest. These are gifts from the Creator.

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We're not responsible for the rhythm of the seasons. If we expect to prosper, however, we must order our lives according to the rhythm of the season. And there is a law of the harvest. Whatsoever you sow, that shall you also reap.

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Planting occurs in connection with expectation. We plant because we expect to receive the The benefits are the fruits of our labors. We take advantage of the opportunity that is presented to us to plant because we have expectation, we have hope for the future.

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When we plant melons, we expect to receive melons. An agrarian economy depends on how the people take advantage of the opportunity to plan. There is a time to plan. The time must be used.

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We are in what is regarded as the beginning of months, the last Sunday in January, the of this year, the first Sunday in January, some of us made resolutions. We did some planting. And we are expected to have some growth to occur during this period as time moves on. Some say time heals all wounds,

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but nothing is healed just in time itself. It's the use we make of the times, what we do in time that really matters. So there is a time to plant

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and there is a time to harvest. Jeremiah laments because God's people have not used the time and opportunity that they have in a way that is productive and pleasing to God.

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Seed time and harvest, that's the order. We cannot reverse it. Seed time comes first, planting precedes harvest. We must sow in order to reap.

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Now, harvest here in our text and summer are two different seasons. Harvest is the time of gathering of grain. And summer is the time of gathering fruit.

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There are two harvest experiences here. grain harvest and fruit harvest. And of course, if one did not have a good grain harvest, you could look forward to the fruit harvest

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to make up in some way, to tie this through. And if one didn't have a good fruit harvest in a year, could sort of look back to the, or forward, to the grain harvest.

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But if we missed out, the bad harvest both for the grain and fruit, then that was double jeopardy. And this is what Jeremiah is talking about.

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You really understand what he's saying? Harvest is past. summer is ended. And we've missed out on both of them. We are not saved. That's a message not only to the people of God

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in Jeremiah's time, it is a message today. Harvest is past, summer is ended. So as we consider these words, a good harvest contributes to prosperity. Good harvest. When Pharaoh had a dream and Joseph interpreted his dream, He had dreamed of seven ears of corn, full and ripe,

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growing on a single stalk. And then after that, there were seven ears thin and shriveled. The thin ears swallowed the seven ears that were full and plump. And Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dream

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was that Egypt would experience seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. The nation's future was dependent on how she used the fruits of the harvest season.

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So how can we harvest our lives in such a way in such a way that they will affect our destiny in a meaningful way. That's the question.

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African Americans came to this country as slaves. They fought in the Revolutionary War expecting to receive full benefits of freedom. When the war was over, we were still slaves.

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And they could say, "The harvest is past. "Summer is ending, and we're not saved." Then there came the Civil War, and they fought in that war,

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expecting to receive the full fruits of freedom. And when it was over, we found ourselves experiencing a new kind of slavery. Harvest passed. Summer ended, but we were not saved. Then there came World War I. The same thing happened. World War

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harvest is past. Vietnam, we fought for freedom in other places, but we have not yet enjoyed in this land the full fruits of freedom. And we can join in Jeremiah's lament, harvest is past, summer is ending, and we are not saved.

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The gathering of grain, the gathering of fruit, both have failed. Stark tragedy confronts the nation. This period of of wasted opportunities. All of us can somehow identify with it.

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You look back over your life, you can see if I had done this, if I had done that. If we had made the most of the opportunities,

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sometimes it's making the most of the opportunity to go to school when you're at a certain age and you don't realize it. We've had sufficient opportunities,

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But we have not wisely made use of our time. Every year, I try to emphasize the importance of making your will. And we call January Make Your Will Month.

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But you know, many people listen to me and they go right on. and they do not take advantage of the opportunity when it's present.

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I remember one lady who was always saying that she was going to make her will, but she never made it. And as she grew older, her hearing became impaired,

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and they called me to her bedside. Her lawyer was there, and there were others who were interested. They were trying to get her to make a will

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because there was not much time left. And we had to, even to talk with her, we had to yell at such a tone that she could be heard all over the place.

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And the lawyer said, "Well, she's not in a condition to do that, to harvest that past." And there are other opportunities

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that we have regardless of our age, young, middle age, old, whatever, there's a certain harvest time. And it's a testing time.

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Harvest, Jeremiah says, is past. You know, we say the earliest years in our lives, what we call preschool, these are the most important years, they say, in education.

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And yet, many times we neglect to use those years. And the harvest pass. It passes away. Summer ends, we go through all of these

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harvest periods, experiences, and we are not saved. There is what I call a crisis of harvest. That is we are caught between life and death.

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And we've got to choose. And it's important that we make the right decision at the right time. Pharaoh had to choose whether he would follow

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Joseph's interpretation of his dream. and America has to choose whether to champion freedom at home as well as abroad. Once to every man and nation comes the moment

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to decide in the strife of truth and falsehood for the good or evil side. A moment of crisis, harvest, harvest. The master sows good seed in his field.

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But there comes one along in the night and sows tares among the sheep, among the wheat. And one of the servants comes to the master and says, "Master, did not you plant wheat?"

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"Yes, well where did these tares come from?" And he says, "An enemy has done this." A sudden hostile forces related to our planting. But he says,

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"Let me go and gather out all of the tare and destroy it." And the master said, "No, no, no, no, no, no, don't do that." Let the wheat and the tare grow together. Because if you go and try to separate them,

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you will pull up some of the wheat with the tare. So let them grow together. And when harvest comes, when harvest comes, I will gather up all of the wheat

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and put it in my barn. That's a crisis. There's a separation time, harvest, when harvest comes. So that's the crisis of the harvest season.

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We sing as we sang earlier, sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness, sowing in the new tide and the dewy eve,

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waiting for the harvest. Every one of us is waiting for the harvest. In the time of reaping, we shall come rejoicing,

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bringing in the seeds. Harvest time. For everyone there is a harvest. If you're in school, there's a harvest.

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When the test comes, that's the harvest. I had one professor that he taught on the English system and he gave an exam for the whole year. You took the course the whole year and you took the exam

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at the end of the year. I don't need to tell you how nervous most of his students were. That was harvest time. If you failed that test, that last experience with him, then you had to take that course

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all over again, whole year, harvest. Harvest, yes, is a time of testing, harvest time. Well, there is a harvest that is a happy time. When we are faithful students,

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many times students doesn't learn that till real late in life, to keep up with the lectures and keep up with the assignments.

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Sometimes we feel that when the assignment is given at the first of the year that you've got so many papers to write and the final exam and all of that.

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And sometimes you just lollygag all over, because you think, I don't have to worry about that. But then all of a sudden the time is there. - Yes, yes.

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- And we spend night after night. - Yes Lord. - Staying up late trying to make up for the time that we should have spent wisely earlier in the year.

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Harvest, the time of testing. But it ought to be a happy time when you've done your work, when you kept up as you ought. You can relax and it's a time of rejoicing

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because you know in your heart of hearts that you are ready for the harvest. Ready for the harvest. That's a wonderful experience.

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Because my brothers and sisters, Harvest time is sure to come. It's sure to come. Just as sure as we are born to die,

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the old folk used to say, harvest time is sure to come. There is a harvest that's arranged. It's just as we have spring, summer, autumn, and winter, just as we have the rhythm of the seasons,

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harvest time is sure to come. It's a wonderful time when you're ready for it and God himself has arranged the harvest and the word to that servant is just wait until the harvest and every one of us here is waiting. We are waiting for harvest because after a while when it's all over, the harvest

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of our lives shall be fleshed before us. Harvest is sure to come. It's coming. Harvest is sure to come. Let's listen to the testimony of the prophet Micah. He says, "Harvest is coming." This is the way he expresses it. He said, "In the

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days. That's harvest time. In the last days, he said, the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be exalted to the top of the mountains. It shall be above the hills and all people shall flow unto him. And people will say, "Come, let us ascend

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to the hill of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob." Harvest time is sure to come. And he says, "Men shall look at at one another and they shall study war no more. They shall not lift up sword against nation.

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Harvest time, harvest time. And then he goes on to say that men and nations shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

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You see the weapons of war shall be made tools of peace and they shall study war no more. There shall be a time of peace, harvest time. What else Michael? He said every man will sit under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to to make him afraid.

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We worry about housing now, affordable housing and all of that, and having open housing for everybody has a place. But when harvest time comes, the arrangement is made.

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And it seems that our ancestors had a glimpse of harvest. Lord, they were out there in the fields, they were working, and many times they were deprived of sharing any of the fruits for which they were laboring.

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but they dreamed that a harvest would come. They dreamed of a harvest and out there in the fields they sang this mournful song. Sinner, please don't let this harvest pass.

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Sinner, please don't let this harvest pass. Sinner, please don't let this harvest pass. die and your soul be lost at last. They had an understanding of harvest. And the wonderful thing is, there comes a time

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when we shall finish all that we have to do here and we shall have to make our report. And the important thing is to be ready for harvest. And this is the time, this is the time, while while the blood runs warm in your veins. Now is the time. Now is the time. Wow, you

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can make a difference. Now is the time. Thanks be to God that He gives seed time and harvest and he bids us to be ready for the harvest. To be able to welcome the one who is the Lord of the harvest and I'm glad that Jesus Christ himself is the Lord of the harvest. He knows the sweet and he knows the

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He knows you and He knows me. He knows, we don't have to explain it to Him. He knows just how much we can bear. He understands and He's waiting to reward us

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through His grace. He knows, He understands, and He blesses. As we sing the hymn of invitation, we extend the privilege of the church

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church. It's an opportunity. This is the harvest. Every sermon that's preached, every invitation that's extended is a harvest. To respond, you may come for a church membership by letter, by Christian experience or a procession, faith. We invite I invite you to come.

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(choir vocalizing) [MUSIC] ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪

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♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Santa, please don't let this harvest ♪ ♪ This harvest past ♪ ♪ Sin of peace ♪

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♪ Don't let this harvest pass ♪ ♪ Harvest past ♪ ♪ Sin of peace ♪ ♪ Don't let this harvest pass ♪

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♪ And die ♪ ♪ And lose your soul and glass ♪ ♪ Your soul and soul ♪ ♪ Sinner, please don't let this harvest pass ♪

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♪ This harvest pass ♪ ♪ Sinner, please don't let this harvest pass ♪ ♪ This harvest pass ♪ ♪ Sinner, please don't let this harvest pass ♪

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♪ And I, I move to Southern lines ♪ ♪ Sing, oh, oh, sing that Crow-low tree ♪ ♪ Sing, oh, oh, sing that Crow-low tree ♪ ♪ Sinner, oh see ♪

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♪ That cruel tree ♪ ♪ Christ has died for you and me ♪ ♪ I know that my Redeemer lives ♪ ♪ I know that my Redeemer lives ♪

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♪ I know that my Redeemer lives ♪ ♪ Sinner, please don't let this harvest pass ♪ ♪ My God is a mighty man of war ♪ ♪ My God is a mighty man of war ♪

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♪ My God is a mighty man of war ♪ ♪ Sinner, please don't let this harvest pass ♪ ♪ Sinner, please don't let this harvest pass ♪ ♪ This harvest pass ♪

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♪ Sinner, please don't let this harvest pass ♪ ♪ This harvest pass ♪ ♪ Sena, please don't let this harvest pass ♪ ♪ And I, I'll lose your soul at last ♪

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♪ Sena, please don't let this harvest pass ♪ ♪ Sing a plea ♪ ♪ Don't let this harvest pass ♪ ♪ This harvest pass ♪

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♪ Sing a plea ♪ ♪ Don't let this harvest pass ♪ ♪ And I ♪ ♪ I'll lose your soul at last ♪

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♪ At last ♪ - Amen. - Amen. Let us listen now to the report of our church clerk, Brother Terry Steele.

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