wk 44: Harvest Blessings

Harvest Blessings

Sowing Faith, Reaping Blessing: 5 Ways to Better Experience God’s Abundance

(Written by Tony Evans: https://www.harvesthousepublishers.com/blog/sowing-faith-reaping-blessing-5-ways-to-better-experience-gods-abundance#:~:text=In%202%20Corinthians%209%2C%20Paul,spiritually%20complete%20followers%20of%20Christ.)

When we fear that God is not meeting our needs, we must act counter-intuitively:

Instead of questioning how God can better serve us, we must examine how we can better follow Him.

In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul describes God’s abundant blessing as something we must sow in order to reap.

He talks about how God supplies us with seeds of faith that we plant through obedience to Him. We then harvest God’s blessing as we are transformed into more spiritually complete followers of Christ.

During seasons of drought and doubt, here are 5 truths that will help yield a greater spiritual harvest:

Your harvest depends on whether you sow. With an unplanted seed, the rain can fall and the sun can shine, but nothing will ever happen. This may seem obvious, but many people come to church asking God to bless them with a harvest from unsown seeds.

Matthew 9:29 NLT

29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.”

Your harvest depends on what you sow. The Bible cautions us, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Many people want to sow selfishness and reap goodness. But if you sow evil, expect to reap evil unless you replant.

Your harvest depends on how much you sow. Too many people in God’s family want a big payday from heaven even when they sow very little or nothing at all. A farmer isn’t fooling anyone but himself if he sows sparingly but thinks he’s in for a bountiful harvest. The same is true for any believer—that’s why Galatians 6:7 says we can’t fool God.

Your harvest depends on when you sow. Galatians 6:9 says we will reap in due time if we don’t grow weary. It takes time for seeds to germinate, plants to grow, and fruit to ripen. First there’s a sowing season, then a “not growing weary” season, and finally a harvest season.

Your harvest depends on why you sow. God wants to bless your sowing to “increase the harvest of your righteousness” (2 Corinthians 9:10). He isn’t nearly as interested in increasing your stuff. Many people want to be blessed for the blessing’s sake. Instead, our desire should be to have a closer walk with God and to share our blessing with others.

God has given you everything you need in order to carry out His commandments in your relationships with others. But it is up to you to obey Him by doing whatever He asks you to do.

Here is the Problem and the Solution

In Matthew 9 Jesus, looks out over the massive crowds that have come to see Him, and is filled with compassion. They are leaderless and harassed.

Matthew 9:36–38 NLT

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Many are ready to be “spiritually harvested"

In the sense that they are ready to believe in Jesus as the Messiah and follow Him on the path to life.

John 4:35 NLT

35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest.

The Problem

There are too few laborers to go out among the people and bring this good news, this gospel of Jesus.

Luke says it this way,

Luke 10:2 NLT

2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.

Girls Tatoo...

The Lord said “Go” and I said, “Send Me”

The Solution

Now Jesus asks His followers to participate in the solution to this problem.

He asks them to pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest that He would send more and more laborers out with this message.

Jesus identifies two roles that believers can serve:

praying earnestly and

going out as laborers with the gospel.

Luke 10:2 NLT

2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.

In the following chapter, Jesus will send out His disciples to participate directly in the harvest.

Sowing involves investing your time,

talents,

treasures, and

energy in the lives of those around you.

God’s law says that as you reflect Him to others, He will multiply your seed and return to you a harvest.

The Lord said “Go”

NOW I said, “Send Me”!