As I have been in contact with other ministers across the country, I have found they all have the same thing stirring. A momentum seems to be building in the Church for one thing—and that is souls.

We have spent time talking about the latter rain and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We have emphasized how God is visiting cities and nations. It's our time of visitation (Luke 19:44), and God is preparing us for revivala restoration of the presence of God.

These are the things we are praying for, believing for, and expecting. But if we're not careful, we can get so busy talking about what's coming that we miss the bottom line of what it's all for.

The Coming of the Lord
The subject James is highlighting in the following passage is the return of Jesus. God is the husbandman, or farmer, and He sowed the best seed He hadHis only begotten Son, Jesus.

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
(James 5:7-8)

God put that Seed into the best ground He could find - the earth, our lives. No good farmer prepares the soil, plants seed, waits for the rain, then forgets about the harvest. No, when the rain falls and the harvest springs up, the farmer gathers that harvest and brings it into the barns.

What is God waiting for before Jesus returns? Verse 7 tells us He is waiting for the precious fruit of the earth: the harvest of His seed. The bottom line is, God is waiting for souls!

I almost hesitate to use the word "souls," because the minute we hear it we usually think of someone of another nationality. Too often we see "souls" as Asian, South American, African, Indian, or anything other than what we are.

No, souls are people! Some of us think, "Souls" are overseas; "people" are where I live. But souls are people and people are all around us.

As we approach the coming of the Lord, now, more than ever, our focus has to be souls.

Everything we are looking for—the latter rain, a visitation, a revival of the presence of God—will bless, empower, and change the Church, but that is not the ultimate purpose.

Jesus said, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me..." (Acts 1:8).

What do witnesses do? Witnesses tell what they know.

The ultimate purpose of a move of the Holy Ghost is not only to bless us; it is to make us a blessing. The ultimate purpose of a move of God is souls. If we lose the purpose, we lose the manifestation.

Mark Brazee Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.