Every year, my wife Anna and I enjoy the splendor of the autumn landscape; its colorful display always ignites anticipation in my soul for the celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Perhaps autumn is my favorite season not only because of its beauty, but for what it represents—the harvest.
Harvest is indicative of multiplication, not simply of crops, but also of human souls. On Earth, we know that if we plant good seed and nurture it, we will reap a fruitful harvest. In Scripture, harvest is about reaping what God has promised through the seed of His Son—abundant and eternal life. That harvest, characterized by God’s adequacy, victory, and revival, is multiplied through us to others as we open to everything He intends for our lives. In that regard, there are two special dates that stand out in my life.
The first is February 25, 1944 when, as a ten year-old boy, I asked Jesus into my heart. I was raised in the way of the Lord, but had not made a public decision for Christ. Two years earlier at Vacation Bible School, I’d listened to a speaker talk about opening your heart to Jesus as Savior. Eight year-old Jack Hayford sat there, knowing I needed to come forward, but I would not budge.
I wanted Jesus, and I knew I had to receive Him to go to Heaven. But I also knew one other thing: I was supposed to be a pastor and I didn’t want to. I don’t know why I knew this; my parents didn’t suggest I go into ministry. No one had. But I didn’t want to admit to my friends that I was “going to be a pastor when I grew up.”
So I refused to go forward. I knew if you were going to accept Jesus, you needed to follow His will, and I didn’t want to. Two years later, at age ten, I received the Lord Jesus Christ but was yet to come to a point of full surrender.
The second milestone date in my life was March 19, 1950 when I was 16. I was attending a Youth Conference themed, “Everything for Christ”. At the end of the evening message the invitation was given: “Who will answer the call of Jesus Christ on your life and give everything for Christ?”
There is no more significant moment in my life’s recollection than when I responded, “Jesus, You can have it all.” I’d opened to everything He had for me when I was ten, but I gave Him everything I had six years later. I’d learned that we don’t need to fear surrendering everything to God because He never exploits His redeemed. Like the principle of the harvest, the more we sow, the more we reap. The more we sow of His Kingdom into our own lives, the more He multiplies that into abundant life and salvation for others.
This day, dear one, I invite you to give everything for Christ and to witness the Kingdom of God reap a harvest more breathtakingly beautiful than the finest glory that autumn has to offer.
About Jack Hayford
Jack Hayford knows the awesome power of God firsthand. When he was a baby, he was gripped by a life-threatening illness. But as a result of the earnest prayers of friends and family, he was miraculously healed. The doctors had no other explanation except that the grace of God snatched him back from the brink of death. Several years later, Jack was struck down again by sickness. This time it was polio. The church elders anointed him and prayed for his recovery. God heard their petitions and granted a second miracle. These two extraordinary events ignited in Jack's heart a passion for God and convinced him that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in the contemporary church. "Contrary to our preconceptions, God is not economical with healings and miracles. Such wondrous works are frequently attending the proclamation of truth in Jesus' name," asserts Pastor Jack.
Jack Hayford serves as President of The Kings University (formerly The King's College and Seminary) in Los Angeles, which he founded in 1997. From 2004 to 2009, he also served as President of The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. He is probably best known, however, as "Pastor Jack," founding pastor of The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, California, where he served as senior pastor for more than three decades. A prolific and best-selling writer, Pastor Hayford is the author (or co-author) of more than 100 books and has composed 600 hymns and choruses, including the internationally known and widely recorded "Majesty."
He is an acknowledged "bridge-builder," helping to forge healthy bonds among all segments of the Body of Christ. He is recognized for his balance in preaching the Word, avoiding extremes while not diluting or compromising the demands of truth. Pastor Jack's heart to bring unity across all denominational and racial boundaries has given him an open door to minister in all kinds of settings
Dr. Hayford and his wife, Anna, have four children, eleven grandchildren, and a growing number of great-grandchildren.
http://www.jackhayford.org/teaching/articles/everything-for-christ/
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