Cultivating the Field of Harvest

Text: Genesis 2:4–6

“These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground” (Gen 2:4-6).

Introduction

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states that “to cultivate” is defined as “those who toil, or till”; A Dictionary of the Bible defines the word dress as “to work” coming from the Hebrew word עָבַד.

A farmer can especially appreciate the word’s definition of “work” as they will tell you - they have to work the soil before planting the seed. If you go out there and just spread seed without tilling the ground, there’s a good chance nothing will grow. Things have to be uprooted in the hearts of people in order for new life to form.

The church needs those who will till the hearts of people. Too often we expect the seed of God’s Word to grow in peoples heart when 1. we aren’t sewing anything there to begin with and 2. we aren’t tilling the ground for a harvest

Let me also say this, you are not tilling the ground of someone’s heart for your own gain, but the gain of the Master

Well, how do I work in the field? How do I till someone else’s heart? We must start with our hearts before we go working on anyone else’s.

Cultivation of the garden and subduing the earth are not the same tasks.

Michael S. Heiser

Something has to be alive before seed can ever be gathered for planting - in other words, you better be alive in Christ before you try and spread what has been placed within your heart in someone else.

God Matures Us Before He Matures Others Through Us

Hebrews 6:1–8 “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.

In other words, we should be able to build upon the foundation of sound doctrine. We should understand doctrines such as Oneness and Jesus name baptism and be able to launch into deeper maturity from there

(4) For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Paul is not putting a final declaration of damnation on one who backslides, what he is saying is that those who are actively in an backslidden state are in danger of hell fire, as we will see in the next verse

(7) For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.”

Agricultural imagery: Israelite farmers commonly burned fields that only produced weeds. These farmers did not attempt to destroy the earth itself, but to rid it of undesirable plants and seeds and prepare it to bring forth a desirable harvest.

In other words, God doesn’t completely destroy the land where things grow - he does, however, burn away everything that would choke what God is trying to do in your life.

If God’s blessing has become a stumbling block to you, don’t be surprised when God takes it away in order to preserve your soul! We’ll get into more of that here in a second.

Hebrews 6:9–12 “But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Paul was writing to a people that were constantly influenced by backsliders - however, I want you to notice that Paul was writing in such a manner that he encouraged the church. If you’re here today, there’s hope! If you’ve made up your mind that you’re going to serve the Lord in Spirit and in truth, there’s hope.

Just because you're here today does not mean that God is done cultivating your heart!

How does God mature us?

Suffering: James 1:2–4 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

Once again, that word perfect is referring to spiritual maturity - not being perfect from sin. We will make mistakes and will need to ask God for forgiveness, this is not a license to sin, however. We are to still strive for holiness - or being like Jesus

Preaching/Teaching of God’s Word: Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Daily devotion to the Word of God: Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

Prayer: Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”; John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” - we have to die out to our fleshly ways in order for God’s light to burn through us. This world needs to see God’s light and the darker it gets - the more the church will stand out.

Fasting is a means to get our flesh out of the way and is a concrete way to say, “not my will, but thy will be done Lord” (Lk 22:42)

The five-fold ministry: Ephesians 4:11–12 “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

Through His people: 1 Thessalonians 5:7–11 “For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

(11) Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”

Notice that word edify is in both Eph 4:12 and 1 Thess 5:11. Ephesians 4:12 uses the word οἰκοδομή, which means the act of bringing something closer to fullness or completion. Specifically, it is the act of assisting in the construction of an incomplete building.

Ephesians 4:12 uses οἰκοδομέω, which also means to bring something closer to completion; however, it simply is constructing something further.

In other words, God will use the five-fold ministry to complete some things were left void in our lives, while using His people to cultivate those once non-existent things.

We have become too dependent on the five-fold to do what we are called to do ourselves!

Work in itself is no good when done in disobedience to God’s commandments!

Deuteronomy 28:39 “Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.”

Come back to verses 3-6

vs.

Deuteronomy 28:3–6 “Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.”

Deuteronomy is a book of recommitment. You see it’s meaning literally mean’s “Second Law” and was a recommitment to what Moses had taught Israel through the Word of the Lord. Verses 3-6 of Deut 28 tell us what the original blessing was to be:

See verses 3-6 above

In other words, ruined fruit and a corrupt spirit shouldn’t be my expectation. God desires we walk in His blessings, but in order for that to happen - we have to be obedient, commited, and in alignment with His commands.

Don’t show up to a church work day and think you’re doing God a favor when you continually refuse to obey what God has asked you to do

Well, I might not be making any friends today, but I’d rather you get upset and pray than sit on a pue and do nothing about the state you’re in

If you’re tired of the way things are, do something about it. Don’t wallow in sin forever - repent, heal, allow God to do some burning, and grow into what He desires you to be!

As a man of God, I’m nowhere near done growing! I’ve got a lot of growing to do! We all do, but sometimes the best growth happens when we allow God to prune - which means allowing Him to remove some things from our hearts and maybe even within our life.

Speak to obedience in attendance, tithing, prayer, putting faith behind what your pastor says

Be willing to teach why we listen to the man of God

Conclusion

God’s not looking for barrenness from His people - He desires that we bear fruit. Bearing fruit takes cultivation, which means work.

Let me close with this as Sister Kasey comes:

Anything you want in life requires work:

- A healthy marriage

- A successful job

- Financial stability

- Healthy relationships with your children

All of those things we are willing to work at, seek counsel on how to be better parents or spouses, and find ways to be better employees so that we can have better financial stability. Why isn’t having a right relationship with God at the top of that list? The way we do that is through maturing in Him and then fulfilling His purpose in our lives - that is, to conform into His image and make more disciples according to Matt 28:19.

Maybe, today you’ve been struggling at keeping God first in your life. Maybe you simply want to deeper in your walk with God? Maybe you’re struggling with unhealed hurt? Whatever it is, I invite you to the altar today.

The altar is a place where things dye, but it is also an entrance place to communion with God.

I’d encourage everyone to make there way up to the altar if they can

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Today, God’s not looking for one individual worker, He’s looking for a body that can function seamlessly to work His field of harvest. Let’s allow God to work in our midst this morning.