The Year of Abundant Harvests

CCI Fellowship's podcast discusses the declaration for the year 2025, the year of abundant harvests. The main ideas are that blessings from God are geographically specific and require being in the right place, and that blessings come at the appointed time determined by God's sovereignty. It emphasizes the importance of faith and prayer in declaring these blessings and trusting in God's perfect knowledge and provision. The podcast also mentions examples from scripture, such as Elijah being provided for in specific locations. Welcome to CCI Fellowship's podcast. Thank you for joining us. At CCI Fellowship, we are reaching God, reaching each other, and reaching our community. We pray that this week's message challenges you in your walk with the Lord, causes you to grow in your faith, and encourages you in your love for the Word of God. Open your Bibles to Ezekiel chapter 34. We're going to talk today about our declaration for this year, 2025, the year of abundant harvests. We're going to look at these two verses that are the foundation of our declaration. We're going to go through this, and then at the end we'll say our declaration before the worship team comes up. Ezekiel chapter 34, verse 26 and 27, I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill, and in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken the chains of slavery, their chains of slavery, and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the Lord. Let's pray. Father, we magnify you and we glorify you. Lord, may we be willing to listen and hear from you. May we be willing to understand and receive the word that you would implant in our hearts. May we be willing to embrace, Lord God, what you speak to us today. Remove all fear. Remove all doubt. Wherever, Lord God, there is uncertainty, I pray that by your Holy Spirit you would bring revelation, and that you would bring understanding, that we would grow in the knowledge of you, and that we would grow in our faith. Father, your anointing is here. Your spirit is here. May we not waste your presence, but Lord, open our hearts to receive everything from you that you desire to give as we surrender to you everything that keeps us from you. In Jesus' name, amen. Annual declarations have been a part of CCI for many, many years. Many of you individually will pray at the beginning of the year and ask the Lord, what is something you want me to focus on this year? A lot of churches will start the year with a 21-day fast just to seek God and start out the year in, what do you want us to look at this year? What's maybe the word that you have for us this year? Well, here in CCI we do a declaration, but one of the things that I always stress when it comes to praying by faith, and I stress this here as we go into our declaration, is that though we are declaring these things by faith, we're not going to go through reciting this declaration as just a recitation. This is going to be where we declare by faith what we believe God is going to do in this year. It's not empty words, or it should not be empty words. I encourage you that they not be empty words. I encourage you to speak these things by faith. And Scripture tells us that we are able to speak by faith. Paul says the word of faith is in you and in your mouth. He says in another place, we believe, therefore we declare. What is it that you believe? If you believe it, then speak it. So though we have this declaration, which we'll call also a prayer, that we're declaring these things over our lives, how God chooses to answer that faith is entirely dependent on His sovereignty. How God chooses to answer our faith is entirely dependent on His sovereignty. We have limited knowledge. We only see part of what's going on in our lives. We only see what we think is the answer to the situations we're facing. But God has perfect knowledge of everything. He has a view of your life from outside the line of time. He can see the beginning of time and the end of time at the same time. It's all visible to Him. We see right now in this moment that we're living. We see behind us, we have memories, we see plans of what is ahead of us, but really the future is uncertain. But God sees the whole of your life in one look, which means that He is able to look at everything that you are facing and take into consideration every detail of those things and formulate an answer to bring to you. And so though we pray, though we make a declaration, though we lay out these are the things that we believe, we do so understanding that in His sovereignty He will answer how He knows is best for us. He will answer in the timing that He knows is best for us. And He will answer even in ways that are unexpected to us because we may only see one or two solutions and He sees the perfect solution. So we rest on His sovereignty. We rest on what He knows that we don't. What I like about this declaration is that it presents a balance between what God is going to do and what is our responsibility to do. You can't reap unless you sow. You're not going to have a harvest unless you plant something. So within this declaration we will see the part that is our responsibility to be used by God to affect other people's lives. And we'll see the part where His abundant provision for us will give us the opportunity to be used so that when He does all of these things, as the end of verse 27 says, all will know that He is the Lord. Amen. So the first thing about this year of abundant harvest is that the blessings of God are geographically specific. The blessings of God are geographically specific. Verse 26 starts out with, I will bless my people and their homes, where? Around my holy hill. What does that mean? It means that the fulfillment of our faith requires that we spend our days around His holy hill. That we spend this year pursuing Him more. That we spend this year encamped in the place that He wants us to be. That we draw close to Him because His provision is around His holy hill. Not wherever we want to go. Not in whatever plans we want to put in place and say, God, this is my plan for the year and I want you to bless it. I'm never consulting Him, is this your plan that you want me to have this year? It's not that we make this declaration and we extract this verse so that we can manipulate God and say, you said you would bless your people and His response is, yes, my people who are inhabiting my holy hill. My people who are in the right place. In 1 Kings 17, you can read the verses later, verses 2-16, we have the story that Elijah tells King Ahab that there's going to be a drought, that God is not going to let it rain. And God tells Elijah to go to a specific place. He says, go to the brook, Cherith, that flows into the Jordan River and there I will provide for you. The ravens will bring you food in the morning and they'll bring you food in the evening and there my provision will be. God told him to go sit by a brook and because it didn't rain, the brook dried up. Why wouldn't God have told him this brook that flows into the river, just go sit by the river, you'll have more water for a longer time. That seems like it would make sense. And Elijah could have said, there's more water over here, God, I'm going to camp over here. The problem is the ravens had instruction to go to the brook called Cherith, not to the side of the Jordan River. So your provision may still come, but if you're not in the right place, you won't be there to receive it. Once the brook dried up, God told Elijah, go to the widow's house in Zarephath. And he meets this widow and he says to her, bring me a cup of water to drink. And oh, by the way, bring me something to eat. And she said, I got nothing. I got a little flour, I got a little oil. I came to get some water so that I can make bread for me and my son and then we will die. But God told Elijah, I have prepared a place for your needs to be met. He could have gone to any other place. He could have gone to somebody who was actually wealthy. He could have gone someplace to somebody that was actually in the family of God. This woman was not Hebrew. He went to a Gentile house and God had planned for his provision to be there. But this is the cool thing that draws us back to our declaration where it says that his blessing will provide for others. The woman and her son ate and were provided for the whole time that Elijah was there. God's blessing upon his son overflowed to bless someone who was not in his family. And it said the oil and the flour did not run out according to the word of the Lord until there was rain. They had food the whole time. So you see Elijah had to go to the right place. So his blessings are geographically specific. In order to receive the abundant harvest God has for us this year, we must keep ourselves in the right place which is close to him. That includes being in the right church, being in the right employment, being in the right friend group, having the right people around you, being in the right place of what you are feeding yourself with physically and intellectually and spiritually. So as we declare this we also pray God reveals to me where the right place is. The second thing is the blessings of God are for an appointed time. Verse 26 says, and in the proper season I will send the showers they need. They will be showers of blessings. The proper season is not defined by our circumstances. It's not defined by our wants and desires. It's not defined by anything within ourselves. It is determined by the sovereignty of God. In scripture we find a whole lot of references to God's timing. One of Adriana's favorites is the word suddenly. There are so many places in scripture where it says, and suddenly. Exactly, Elijah was fed by ravens. Suddenly can also be those verses that say in the fullness of time. In other words, when it was the right time, such and such things happened. In the day of Pentecost it says, and suddenly. There was a sound. They had been there for ten days, they had been waiting, they had been just waiting. Jesus told them wait for the Spirit. Okay, what does that look like? What does waiting look like? I don't know. I'm pretty sure that in the course of ten days they looked at each other and said, what are we doing? I don't know. Jesus just said wait. So we're just waiting. But suddenly, they were in that moment prepared to continue waiting. Jesus didn't tell them ten days from now. He just said go and wait. But suddenly, suddenly God's provisions will come. Because in the proper season, at the proper time, he will send those showers of blessing. Acts chapter 1 verse 7 says, and he said to them, it's not for you to know the times or the season which the Father has put in his own authority. Then he goes on to tell them, but you, go wait in Jerusalem until you're endued with power from on high. He told them what they should have been focused on and then told them what they should be focused on. Don't worry about the timing in this declaration. You focus on being close to God. You focus on sowing where he tells you to sow. You focus on doing what he tells you to do. And in the proper season, he will bring about those blessings. In our declaration it says, in this year and month by month. And this year will not end without these miracles beginning to manifest. I love that phrase because it's not that the declaration is imposing a time limit on God. Or promising something that it can't. It's not saying by the end of the year, all of your prayers of blessing will be fulfilled. We will not end this year without these things beginning to happen. It leaves room for God to do his work without confining him to our timeframe. And it leaves room to allow him to work in us. To prepare us. And shape us. And bring us to the place where we can receive his abundant blessings. You know, some people just at this given point in their life, they just don't carry the integrity needed to receive God's abundant harvest. And we find ourselves in that place, oh God, why did you bless that person and you won't bless me? Well, God knows who he can trust with his blessings. Well, I'm trustworthy, um, maybe you should go talk to the Holy Spirit about that. It leaves room for God to work outside of our timeframe. And it leaves room for him to work us into his timeframe. The third thing is the blessings of God are varied. Not limited to one type. So the first was they're geographically specific. They are for an appointed time, the second one. The third one is that they're various. They're not limited to one thing. Verse 27 says, the orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops. This isn't the year of abundant harvest, it's the year of abundant harvests. Plural. A bumper crop is a harvest that is much larger than expected due to ideal conditions. You may be looking at your year and thinking, these don't look like ideal conditions. Right? But he says that there will be a bumper crop, which is an abundant harvest, larger than expected because of ideal conditions. Orchards and fields denote different types of crops, different areas, purposed for different production. As I was looking back and studying the distinction between those, what I found is that orchards could be described as a place where things grow, where trees grew, where there was fruit and things that developed that may or may not have been planted there on purpose. A field is a place where somebody worked and tilled and prepped and planted in order to receive a specific harvest. So what's the difference for us within this? Orchards and fields. It means that God can provide through so many different ways, whether it is a place that you have sowed in or whether you are reaping from what somebody else sowed, he will bring that blessing abundantly. So we have the responsibility to prep the field. Project 610 is coming up. Great opportunity to prep the field. But it doesn't restrict God to the place where he can only use what we give. He's God and can do whatever he wants. He owns a cattle on a thousand hills. That verse that God says, if I was hungry, I wouldn't ask you. If I needed this or that, I'm not coming to you. I own it all. He owns it all. He is not short of resources to provide for you. And he says that these harvests will come upon us this year through expected sources and unexpected sources. In Deuteronomy 28, verse 1 through 14, these are the blessings that are listed for obedience. The interesting thing is that the rest of the chapter, verse 15 to 68, we get 14 verses of blessing and a whole lot more verses of punishment. But those 14 verses of blessing are all-encompassing. It says you'll be blessed in the city and be blessed in the field, verse 3 says. Blessed in the city and blessed in the field. Blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. Blessed when you rise up and blessed when you lay down. But what's the catch? What's the caveat? Verse 1 says, now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all his commandments, which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth, all of these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Well that's an Old Testament thing. Jesus summed it up in two commandments and the promise is the same. It's not all the commandments. The Old Testament, Jesus said, love your God and love your neighbor. That's it. Only two. Everything is summed up in those two things. But his blessing is the same. If you obey, all these blessings will come upon you. All these blessings will come upon you. Abundant multiple harvest. Again, I encourage you, read through the chapter. See how extensive it is that God says that he will bless us if we diligently obey. If we keep ourselves on the holy hill. If we don't stray away, if we don't meander, if we don't get distracted, if we don't give in to temptation, because the devil will draw you away. Your own fleshly desires will draw you away. In the New Testament it says keep yourself in the love of God. Well Romans 8 says we're never separated from the love of God, that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Yes, but it also says keep yourself in the love of God. Both are true. Yes and. We have to be diligent to keep ourselves close to him. The fourth thing is the blessings of God will cause all to know that he is the Lord. Verse 27. Everyone will live in safety. When I've broken their chain to slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the Lord. There's nothing to fear about this coming year. God's already there. He's already at the end of this year. He already knows what's going to happen in the elections in this country. He already knows what's going to happen in your job. He already knows what's going to happen in your family. He already knows it all. So there's nothing to fear. New Testament tells us perfect love casts out all fear. He that fears hasn't learned perfect love, hasn't received the love. So if God has put his perfect love in us, his agape love in us, then why do we fear? I talk to too many, too many, too many Christians that are afraid. Fear is not part of our lives, should not be part of our lives, because perfect love casts out all fear. Well, I'm afraid. Stop it. Stop giving in to fear. That's how the devil controls you. Well, you know, when I go to bed at night, I'm just scared. I leave on all the lights, I leave the fan on, I leave music going, I just can't sleep unless all of those things are present. Why? Psalm 4, verse 8, I will both lie down in peace and sleep. For you, Lord, make me dwell safely and securely. Christ is our peace. Not only our peace with God, but our peace in every aspect of our beings. He's our peace. So when you lay down at night, lay down like there's no care in the world, because he's got it. And he will use that, he will use the peace that passes all understanding as a testimony to others. For in the middle of the chaos that's going on around you, in the middle of the lack that's going on around you, when he provides for you, and when he implants this peace in you, when you embrace this peace, then others will know. You can't hide it. You can't. You can't hide it. He will use you to show others that he is Lord. 2 Corinthians 2, verse 14, Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. The privilege it is to be on display for Christ. And as we stand together to say this declaration, as we go through it, I want you to be thinking about these things. And I want you to be thinking about your responsibility in this year. At least, at the very minimum, to have the attitude of, Lord let my life be a book that others can read, that brings them to you. Paul says, we are living epistles written for the benefit of others, so that they'll know the greatness of the Lord our God. Amen? Come on, kiddos. Are you ready? This is 2025 CCI Declaration, the Year of Abundant Harvest, all together. In Ezekiel 34, 26 to 27, God gave his people a promise that extends to us, a promise we choose this year to believe, declare, and live out. I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season, I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the Lord. This word delivered by God is a gateway that throughout this year and month by month will allow us to witness his power operating in our favor, in every area of need and in every situation that requires his intervention. We declare that we will be amazed, for even in the most barren and unproductive places, abundant harvest will be released for the glory of God and the blessing of his people. Upon the dry ground of our needs, heaven will pour rain in just the right measure. These showers will bring abundant harvest and blessings until they overflow. Those around us will call us productive, a blessed people, people of goodness, for the harvest will not only provide for our benefit and well-being, but will also reach many others who will be touched by our blessing. We will begin and end each month with confidence, free from fear and anxiety, advancing day by day, knowing that our abundant harvest will allow us to live securely under the shadow of the Almighty. My home will experience the effects of these abundant harvests, as I see in my household the results and fruit of my persistent prayers. My family will not dwell in spiritual orphanhood. They will not be barren, lifeless trees. On the contrary, they will be lush trees bearing multiplied fruit. This year will not end without these miracles beginning to manifest. I will reap breakthroughs and freedom from conditions that have hindered my fruitfulness. Therefore, I speak to the dry branches in the tree of my life, be restored, sprout again, and become healthy branches bearing fruit for well-being and prosperity. The abundant harvests of this year bring new opportunities, new doors, new relationships, new methods and strategies for doing things, as well as new outcomes that will uplift the heart even of those who had given everything up as lost. What once seemed impossible will be transformed, for God will breathe life and solutions into the irredeemable. In His hands, everything will take on meaning and purpose. We will recognize that the events we have faced, the situations we once saw as purposeless, were seeds sown into our history, seeds that will now yield abundant harvests for all good things. Therefore, today, with renewed strength and faith, 2025, we proclaim you as the Year of Abundant Harvest. Amen. Thank you for listening to this week's podcast. If you are ever in the Tegucigalpa area and looking for an English-speaking congregation, please join us on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. in the main auditorium of Iglesia CCI in Colonial Trepichi. Thank you. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless.