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The Law of Sowing and Reaping Pt.1
by mark baker Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. The Living Bible says it like this Galatians 6:7 Don't be misled; remember that you can't ignore God and get away with it: a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows! Through out God's Word there is much said about sowing and reaping. This is a spiritual law that can't be negated. The Living Bible says it so simply, a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows. The analogy here of spiritual sowing is being compared to sowing seed for a crop. This is not so hard for farmers or gardeners to understand. In the natural you know that if you sow corn you are not going to get pumpkins. Why is this so hard for us to equate in the spiritual realm? We are going to look at this law and learn what God's Word has to say about it and begin to apply these truths to our lives. One of the first things we should look at is what exactly is sowing in the spiritual realm. In the natural realm it is easy, you take some type of seed and you dig a hole in the ground and place the seed in the hold at a predetermined depth. You also have to water it and so on, however the seed itself does the work. Because there is life already in the seed, the seed germinates and grows into the type of plant that produced the seed in the first place doesn't it? We see this law being put into place by God in the very first chapter of Genesis, let's take a look. Genesis 1:11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth''; and it was so. 12. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. We can see that God designed all the many plants to produce after their own kind, and He declared that the seed would be in itself. In other words the plant would produce the seed that would in turn produce another plant and so on forever. My point being the seed has a specific purpose, that being to reproduce according to the life that God placed in it. That is a very incredible thing to consider. God has given us seed to sow, yet most of us don't understand this principle and use the seed for our own pleasures. We consume the seed instead of planting it. We may plant a certain amount of seed. We sow a little here and a little there. However we are not sowing the seed for the purpose of harvesting. I am not pointing my finger at anyone to criticize them, only pointing out an observation. I am learning just like we all are. The purpose of planting seed is to reproduce the parent plant. Farmers practice this on a large scale and gardeners do it on a smaller scale. You harvest what you have planted. You sow for the specific purpose of harvesting. You don't sow because you have nothing better to do. When harvest time comes and it will, you reap the harvest. If you didn't want a harvest you wouldn't have sown in the first place, would you? I have said all of this to make the point that if we want a spiritual harvest we have to sow. There are also other consideration we should look at as well. There is a time to sow. You would not sow certain types of seed in the middle of the winter, as they are summer crops, and you would not plant winter crops in the heat of the summer. The temperature of the soil is vital to the germination and growth of the seed into a mature plant. God has a time for spiritual sowing as well. I have found He will lead you at certain times to sow into very specific ministries. He wants you to sow your seed at a very specific time. The spiritual temperature will be just right for that seed to germinate and grow into a mature plant. The mature plant is the plant that produces the harvest. An immature plant might start to produce but then not yield a crop because it is not capable or mature enough to do so. If you plant your seed at the wrong time, you can not expect the seed to germinate properly, and grow, and mature, and produce a crop. This after all is the whole purpose of sowing the seed in the first place, is it not? We sow seed for the purpose of reaping. We have to follow God's leading and do what God wants us to do in God's timing. Knowing when to plant is just as important as knowing what and where to plant. It is crucial to reaping the full harvest. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon the wisest man on the Earth in his day said Ecclesiastes 3:1. To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: 2. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; He goes on to say much more as well if you want to take the time to go back and read it for yourself. He is talking about the timing of God in all things that God has put in our hand to do. God's tells us in His Word that we have been predestined to good works. God planned way in advance that we should fulfill His purpose. We have to look to God's leading and work in God's timing if we are going to fulfill His perfect will here on the Earth. I like the way the New American Standard Version says this. -- New American Standard Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. He already knows what we are supposed to do and when we are supposed to do it. It is our obligation to get before Him and get instruction in these matters. He promises by His Word that the Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us into all truth. He will guide us into the perfect will of God if we will humble ourselves before Him and get His instructions. Genesis 8:22 "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.'' God has ordained a time to sow. He is not going to do the work of sowing for us. We are the ones who are ordained to go out and do this. He loves us so much that He has given us the seed in order that we can sow and receive the fruit of righteousness. He wants us to be blessed, and to be a blessing to others as well. We can not reap a harvest if we have not sown. We can not be a blessing to others if we don't reap a harvest, or if we take the seed God has supplied to us for sowing and use it on our own wants. God has promised us the seed to sow, and it is our responsibility to do the sowing at the proper time and let the seed do its job so that we in due course may reap the harvest. 2 Corinthians 9:10-13 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, God has ordained this method for the purpose of blessing His children. Another thing to consider is the quantity of seed that you sow. We know that if God supplies the seed, then the seed itself is good, so we must sow what he has given us. The more we sow the more we harvest. The less we sow the less we harvest. 2Cor:9:6: But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Begin to take the seed God has provided and sow it. If you truly want a harvest in your life, then start sowing. This is the way God's spiritual laws works. He wants us to be abundantly blessed. Not just a little but more than we can handle. That is just the way God is. So when you sow, get ready to harvest. Then you will have more seed to sow and plenty for your own needs and help supply to the needs of others as well. Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.'' Take this Word to heart and meditate on these truths, and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you concerning His law of sowing and reaping. Remember what the Apostle Paul said in the book of Galatians Gal:6:9: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Keep doing what God's Word says to do and know the harvest is coming. We have God's Word to stand on. It will never fail to produce what it was sent to do. Just as the seed bearing plants will produce after their kind, the seed God gives us to sow will produce after its own kind. Glory to God. Amen. Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Do you want to be a joint heir with Christ? If so, I urge you to earnestly pray the following prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. Your word says, "and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." (Jn.6:37), So I know You won't cast me out, but You take me in, And I thank you for it. You said in your Word, "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'' (Ro. 10:13). I am calling on Your name, So I know You have saved me now, You also said, "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation." (Ro.10:9,10). I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification. And I confess Him now as my Lord, Because Your Word says, " with the heart one believes to righteousness" and I do believe with my heart, I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21), And I am saved! Thank You, Lord! I can now truthfully say, I see myself as a born again child of God! Glory to God!!!! Amen. I was raised Catholic, and was born again at the age of 17. I received God's call into ministry at the age of 19 and began to prepare for ministry. I graduated from Rhema Bible Training Center in 1979. The Lord has called me to teach. My desire is to help all that are seeking the truth to come into a deeper understanding of what God has done for us through Christ Jesus. Olive Branch Ministries is an outgrowth of that desire. Please feel free to visit us for more free studies and resources to help you on your journey. Mark Baker http://www.olivebranchministries.us Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |