Mensa Otabil - Fruitfulness
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Tonight is a night of nights. Tonight, we are privileged by God’s grace not only to live through a year but to live through the most turbulent year of our memories. Many people will call this year 2020 one of the most unusual years of our lifetime, and we have lived through it, survived it, and we give God the praise, glory, and honor for bringing us through. If He has done it for us in 2020, He will do it for us in 2021. Somebody shout hallelujah! Psalm 46 will be my opening scripture, verses 1 to 5: «God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah. There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. God shall help her just at the break of dawn.»
I will read verse five again: «God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. God shall help her just at the break of dawn.» Just at the break of dawn, you will not be moved. God will help you just at the break of dawn. In just about 57 minutes from now, we will be ushering in a brand new year, and as we wait for the break of dawn of a new day and a new year, we are confident that God is our refuge and strength. He will help us at the breaking of dawn. Last year, about this time, we gathered to thank God and seek His face for the year we are ending. We entrusted ourselves into His hands. At that time, the coronavirus was a very distant word in China; we had no expectation that it would impact our world and our lives as profoundly as it has. But when we gathered, without any sense of the future, we still trusted God and thanked Him for keeping us in 2020.
The third stanza of the hymn «Amazing Grace» says: «Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; 'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.» Grace has brought us this far, and grace will lead us on. The same grace that brought us through 2020 will be the same grace that takes us through 2021. Through many dangers, toils, and snares, we have come, and we will continue to move on. We are convinced that God has already gone ahead of us into 2021; He has made a way for us throughout the year. This year, we have experienced God personally, and I’m sure each one of us has a story to tell. Generally, each year is a mix of events; sometimes the events lean heavily toward happiness, and other times toward sadness.
For some of us, 2020 has been the best of times; for others, it has been the worst of times, and for still others, it’s a mix of both. There are people here today in this church, on this compound, watching on television, online, and listening by radio who have gone through the valley of the shadow of death. Some have been hurt; you’ve been wounded; you’ve been knocked down, gone through sickness, buried loved ones, and had to say goodbye to acquaintances. Some have been left alone, hearts broken, and there are those who said you would not make it because of all that has happened to you this year. But in spite of all the stuff you’ve been through, you can stand and still say, «I am here.» Somebody say, «I am here. I am here.» Being here means God is not finished with you. His grace has brought you this far, and grace will lead you on.
Then there are those who look back at this year and rejoice for all the good things that have happened. For some, this is the year they found God and were born again. Some have experienced the power of God in unusual ways; some have gotten healed; some have come through an accident and are still alive; some got a job this year; some were infected by the virus and recovered; some gained promotions at work; some built a house for the first time; some bought their first car; some landed a big career breakthrough; some got married in the midst of all the lockdown; some had their child today. For those people who rejoice today, God is not finished with you. Grace has brought you this far, and grace will take you on. The same grace that gave you a good year will give you a better year next year.
So, for whatever your story, tonight, as we gather to say goodbye to this momentous year called 2020, we can all agree that God is good, and we can all say, «To God be the glory, great things He has done.» Somebody say, «To God be the glory, great things He has done.» Through many dangers, through many toils, through many snares, God has been with us from everlasting to everlasting. The name of the Lord is to be praised. So today, we have gathered as God’s children from our homes in the presence of the Lord to give thanks. We give thanks to You, O Lord. In all the pains and sorrows of 2020, Lord, we give thanks. In all the uncertainties and worries of 2020, Lord, we give thanks. In all our trials and tribulations in 2020, Lord, we give You thanks. In all our joys and our laughter, Lord, we give You thanks. For all the miracles and deliverances of 2020, Lord, we give You thanks. For all the victories and achievements of 2020, Lord, we give You thanks.
If this is your testimony, and you can give thanks to the Lord, why don’t you clap your hands to the Lord and shout to God with a voice of triumph? We give thanks when we are sad, and we give thanks when we are excited. We give thanks when there are tears in our eyes, and we give thanks when laughter fills our lips. We thank God because He is God all by Himself, and He keeps us and watches over us. We thank Him for everything that we have gone through and honor Him for everything because it is in thanksgiving that we see the glory and the power and majesty of the Lord.
So we give You thanks, Lord. Next year, by this time, we will gather again, and we will thank the Lord again! I said next year, by this time, we will gather again, and we will give thanks to the Lord again. If you believe that, why don’t you say amen to that? Oh, shout a mighty amen to that! Those of you watching at home, we want you to shout amen so we can hear you! Amen! The same God who delivered us this year will deliver us. The eyes that have seen the end of 2020 will also see the end of 2021. For the past 40 years, as a pastor and Christian leader, I have led people into the new year. I have been conducting services like this for 40 years; it’s one of the most sacred duties I have as a pastor, and I don’t take this lightly at all. Leading people into a new year is heavy duty; we can’t take it lightly or enter hastily. We must enter consciously, deliberately, and by faith. That is why I take this moment very seriously; I know you take it seriously too because your hopes are tied to next year and you have no idea what is coming, but you are facing it. I take it so seriously that I start planning for this event around the month of July when we are having our prayer and fasting. That’s when I start planning for this night. So what we do here didn’t just start tonight; it started a long time ago as we prayed and sought the face of the Lord about which direction He would want us to go.
As most of you know, in July during our 40 Days of Power, we pray and fast, and one of my top topics during that time is where we are going in the next year. By July, you’ve actually lived much of the year; you’ve crossed more than half, and now you have to think of the new year coming. Each year, I spend time praying for God to give me a sense and an idea of what we should be doing. That is where the theme for the year comes in. In 2020, our theme has been excellence. In the midst of COVID, the Lord has helped us to excel and rise above every limitation. So, the year of excellence is coming to an end, but our spirit of excellence is not ending, and our attitude of excellence is not ending. Don’t throw excellence away after 2020. We still have to be excellent in 2021. Our theme is fruitfulness. Fruitfulness! I love that! By the middle of this year, when we started praying during the 40 Days of Power, I just knew that was what God was whispering into my heart. I was quite certain that we were going to have a year of fruitfulness.
What is fruitfulness? Fruitfulness is the action or process of yielding fruit or being abundantly productive. It means to be full of fruit, bearing spiritual fruit, being creative with our ideas, bringing things into being, and increasing abundantly on every side. To help us contextualize this concept of fruitfulness into our present-day situation, I’m going to take you to the Book of Genesis, chapter 8, verses 18 to 22. It is a statement about Noah. You know the story of Noah. One fine day, he had an instruction from God to build an ark because there was going to be rain, and he was supposed to convince people to go into the ark. Noah spent about 120 years on that endeavor, preaching, warning, and building the ark. When the time came, nobody joined him except the animals and his family members. So, he goes into the ark with his wife, his three sons, and their wives—eight people and animals in pairs. Then the rain starts—a deluge of rain, water from above, and water from beneath overwhelms the earth, and everything that had been built was destroyed. If you read the Bible, prior to Noah, the world was in a state of industrial development. Metalworks were being done, musical products were being developed, animal husbandry, and buildings—so much was happening in the world. Schools were being built, and great things were happening. Then all of a sudden, the flood comes and wipes everything away. Everything! Buildings gone, technology destroyed, teachers lost. How do you start your world after everything is gone? Devastation! So, Noah comes out of the ark, makes an offering, and God speaks to him. I want us to see what God said to him: Genesis 8:18–22.
«So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth according to their families went out of the ark. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. And the Lord said in His heart, 'I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night shall not cease.'» Tonight, we are like those who stepped out of the ark after the flood. I am aware that the danger of the coronavirus has not fully passed; we still have to maintain our vigilance, protect ourselves from infection, and keep the protocols. However, every human being who lived through 2020 is stepping out of one of the most devastating years in our modern life. The effects will not end this year; they will continue for many years because so much has gone wrong. After they emerged from the ark, what is Noah to do when he sees all the devastation? Yes, he has his wife and sons, but he had cousins, brothers, sisters, and friends who are all gone. You don’t just rejoice because you survived; you also look at all the loss that has taken place. But Noah’s attitude was thanksgiving. So when he stepped out of the ark, in spite of all that had been lost, he made a sacrifice to God. That is why at the end of every year, in spite of everything that has happened, we still sacrifice to God, thank Him, and honor Him. It’s part of why we are here.
After the Lord received Noah’s thank offering, He gave him a promise and a sign—the rainbow—and then told him, «While the earth remains, there will be seedtime and harvest.» Later on in chapter 9, verse 7, God continues to speak to Noah and says, «As for you, be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it.» I don’t know about you, but I like the phrase, «As for you, be fruitful and multiply.» It means that even if nothing is fruitful, «as for you,» you must be fruitful. That is the word that God wants to give us in the year of fruitfulness. We don’t know what 2021 will unload on the earth, but as for us, we will be fruitful. COVID may still be around, and it may still wreck some havoc, but as for us, we will be fruitful. Some businesses may fold up, and we may hear some news in the business world that will chill our hearts, but as for us, we will be fruitful.
Somebody say, «As for me, I will be fruitful.» And though we don’t have all the resources we need, as for us, we will be fruitful. And though people may try to pull us down, as for us, we will be fruitful. And though evil spirits and evil people may hate us, as for us, we will be fruitful. Though everybody may be complaining all around us, as for us, we will be fruitful. And though the economies of nations will be in crisis, as for us, we will be fruitful. Somebody say, «As for me, I will be fruitful.» That’s what God said to Noah. There’s devastation, and you don’t see anything happening, but as for you, Noah, don’t go about complaining; be fruitful. So today I tell you, there will be tough times in 2021, but as for you, you will be fruitful. You will face challenges in 2021, but as for you, be fruitful. You may hear things that will scare you, but as for you, you must be fruitful. In the mountain, we will be fruitful. In the valley, we will be fruitful. In the dry season, we will be fruitful. In the rainy season, we will be fruitful because as for us, we will be fruitful. Though a lot has been lost, as for you, you are going to be fruitful. I see you becoming fruitful. I see you bearing fruit on every side. I see you becoming productive. I see things coming against you and you’re breaking through them.
I see you standing tall, defying the circumstances of life. Life will not whip you. Life will not put you down. Life will not destroy you. As for you, you will be fruitful. Today we are like Noah; we have stepped out of an ark into a devastated world. All around, we see evidence of destabilization. But the Lord says to you, «As for you, be fruitful.» He is telling Noah, «You came from the ark; don’t hide in the ark. Don’t spend the rest of your life hiding. You have to come out of the ark and be fruitful.» So how did Noah respond to this challenge from God? This challenge from God, which doesn’t seem to respect his troubles. God says, «Noah, no matter what has happened, as for you, all I want from you is to be fruitful.» Genesis 9:20 states, «Noah began to be a farmer and he planted a vineyard.»
Noah began to be a farmer; he understood that fruitfulness requires that he do something. He planted a vineyard. I like the word «began.» He began to do it; he started. Why does the Bible say he began to be a farmer? Because prior to that, all he had been doing was building an ark. He was not a farmer. All he knew was building an ark. He had been doing it for 120 years; he had been a preacher for 120 years. That’s all he knew. Now there’s nobody to preach to; everybody’s gone, only his wife and children. I’m sure he has preached all his sermons to them; the animals are not going to listen to him anyway. There’s no century. So he began something new—something he hadn’t done before, something he was not familiar with, something that was not in his past life.
He began to do it. So I challenge you: in the year of fruitfulness, you will begin to do something fruitful. He couldn’t just go and live all his life in the ark, saying, «Well, this is my safe place. I’m going to live for the rest of my life in the ark.» He had to resume his life. I tell each one of you, it’s time to come out of the ark and resume your life. It is time to resume your journey. It is time to resume going to church in person! I said it is time to resume going to church in person! Come out of the ark! Because we have to begin. We have to begin! If you believe God has called you to be fruitful, begin the process. Begin again! You were knocked down, but get up and begin! Your business collapsed; get up and begin! You lost your investment; get up and begin! Something didn’t work; get up and begin! Don’t just stay and complain and blame COVID-19.
Noah began. He had to learn a new skill. He had to start a new process. He had to do something he hadn’t done before. If it means beginning to go to school again, go! Learn a new trade—learn it! If it means reading something new, read it! But don’t sit down and complain. You are too talented to complain. You are too loaded to complain. Everybody has an excuse to fail, but refuse that excuse! Even if you feel sick, as for you, you will be fruitful. People have disappointed you; as for you, you’ll be fruitful. That’s what God said to Noah: «In spite of everything that has happened, as for you, all I want from you, Mr. Noah, is to be fruitful.» So he began to be a farmer, and the second thing is that he planted a vineyard. He understood that fruitfulness requires planting something. Plant your vineyard. Plant your dream. Plant the will of God. Plant your fields. God will construct new things in your life and repair things that need to be repaired.
In 2021, may God help you to build new things in your life. May you plant again! May you build again! May you restore! Building may not take a day to accomplish, but you have to begin. Many of us have things we need to build—our marriages need to be built or repaired, children need to be built and repaired, careers need to be built and repaired, finances need building and repairing. In the year of fruitfulness, we will be like Noah. We’re going to begin. We will begin! Maybe you’ve been successful in 2020; begin something new! Don’t just hold on to your success and glorify God for 2020 because 2021 is not 2020. And just like we were shocked in 2020, you have no idea what 2021 will bring. But whatever it brings, Mr. 2021, whatever you are bringing, «as for us, we will be fruitful.»
Whatever the world goes through, «as for us, we will be fruitful.» We will begin anew; we will plant, and we will prosper. As we enter this new year, may the Lord make you fruitful. May the Lord cause you to increase. May the Lord cause you to abound in everything. If you are down, you will rise. If you are weeping, you will laugh. If you were mocked, you will be celebrated. If you were confused, you will have clarity. If 2020 left everything, everything is coming back to you because as for you, you will be fruitful. We refuse not to be fruitful, and we will be fruitful at every level. We will be fruitful spiritually; we will be fruitful with the fruit of the Spirit; we will be fruitful with our ideas; we will be fruitful with the fruit of the womb; we will be fruitful with the work of our hands. We will be fruitful at every level. Whatever fruit you need, may God make you fruitful, and may the Lord cause you to be fruitful! Maybe you’ve tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and it has not worked. But in 2021, «as for you, you will be fruitful.» That is the word I have in my heart to bring to you—that as for you, you will be fruitful!