The law of the harvest
Notes
Transcript
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
Illustration:
I remember when I was a boy I had received a small apple tree to plant at my home. It was a lesson we were learning in school about plants and how they grow and produce fruit. Well about a week after I planted my tree my cousin came over to mow our lawn for us and thought that my little tree was just a stick someone put in the ground and mowed over it. Needless to say, I never received any fruit from that little tree.
Introduction:
We are going to look at these last few verses of the book of Galatians today and see what are some truths we can learn from and be encouraged by this morning
"God is not mocked." That's a powerful statement. Funny how someone would think they could out-smart God. But a person only fools themselves when they think they can sow evil and somehow still receive a good reward.
Besides risking their eternal salvation, when a person sows to the flesh, they cause a great harvest of misery and disappointment in their lives. Such was the case with King David. His sins brought 5 punishments from the Lord, one of them being that the sword would never depart from his house.
Likewise, besides gaining eternal life, when a person sows to the spirit, they bring God's blessings on them in this life. This was Joseph's story in the Old Testament. He resisted great temptation to commit adultery but was put in prison anyway. However, after many years, the Lord rewarded him by making him the second-highest ruler in all of Egypt!
Notice that The Law of the Harvest has three basic parts:
1. We get what we sow
1. We get what we sow
Explanation:
This is why we must always be so careful about what we do with our lives. You sow good things in your life you reap good things. You sow bad things in your life you receive only bad things. You will always get back what you sow. My prayer for each person here and for every Christian is that they will sow godliness and reap a life full of the blessings of God.
Illustration:
When a farmer plants a seed of corn can anyone tell me what will grow out of that seed? (Wait for response) Are you sure? Of course, if you plant corn you get corn. If you plant an apple seed you get an apple tree. If you plant popcorn you get a popcorn plant. True? haha ok, well, you all understand what I’m saying tho right? You will always reap what you sow good or bad.
Application:
If we are sowing the gospel we will reap Christians. Just as cone makes corn so Christians make Christians. We go soul winning and share the gospel and new converts are a direct result of us sowing the gospel. For the first year and a half of our church, we had my family and one other family that was it. Now, after two years, God has grown our church little by little and we have about 15 faithful people now but its all because we have sown the seed of the gospel. Now if you sow the seed of the world and wickedness I can guarantee you that you will only reap heartache. So stay in the word of God and sow godliness.
Transition:
So the first part of the law of the harvest we have looked at is we get what we sow. Next, look with me at number two.
2. We get more than we sow
2. We get more than we sow
Explanation:
Does anyone know how many kernels of corn come on one cob? Hundreds! And on one stalk there comes more than one cob. There are several so literally thousands of seeds of corn with just one stalk and millions of seed from that!
Illustration:
When the farmer plants his harvest he expects to reap more than he planted. We have one seed. If we can plant the seed of the gospel in one persona and they get saved and they tell someone else and then they tell someone else and they tell someone else. What we now have is more fruit than what we planted!
Application:
Can you imagine what God can do with one person fully surrendered to God?
D.L. Moody once said “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.”
Will you be that one? Can you imagine if each Christian in this church would pray for God to use them to reach just one soul this next year who would truly get saved and be dedicated to him? Let’s say there are about 150 real Christians here in this church an150 new Christians in the town. I mean you could start another church if you wanted!
Imagine if you prayed that for your church? Oh, what God could do!
What if we prayed that for our church?
Transition:
So far we have seen the first two parts of the law of the harvest. 1) We get what we sow and 2) We get more than we sow. Lastly, let’s look at number three.
3. The harvest is not immediate
3. The harvest is not immediate
Explanation:
The fruit takes time to develop. A farmer does not expect to plant a seed of corn and see a harvest the next day. No, it takes time. You have to prepare the soil, plant the seed, water the field, wait, water some more, wait some more and repeat before we will even begin to see a harvest.
Illustration:
For a farmer, It could take up to two- three months before their harvest is ready and they have to make sure they plant their seed in the right soil at the right time of year. And then put in a lot of work but in the end, in the harvest season, it is well worth it!
Application:
Sometimes as Christians we plant the gospel see in good soil but it may take years before we see a harvest in the soul of the person we have planted the Gospel seed. I know wives that prayed for the salvation of their husbands for 30 years before they were saved. We never know who will receive the gospel but God has given us the commandment to sow the seed and the bible says God gives the increase! What a relief it is to know that the only command God has given to us in the matter is to share the gospel. Whether they get saved or not is not our job that’s the job of the Holy Spirit to convict and work on their hearts. We just have to give a clear presentation of the Gospel so they will be warned! The rest is the job of God!
Someone once asked me “How many people have you lead to the Lord?” my reply was “All of them!” Every person I have witnessed to I have lead them to the Lord. Now, if they were saved or not that’s not my job. I just lead them to God and give them direction according to the bible and God does the rest! Because I don’t save anyone God alone does that!
Somebody say amen!
So please don’t get discouraged if you don’t see an immediate result or harvest. Its all in Gods timing and like a real harvest there will be time before we see the harvest. But wow what an experience when we get to experience the harvest! Amen?
Conclusion:
The three basic parts of the harvest are 1) We get what we sow. So be careful what you sow. 2) We get more of what we sow. So I hope you sow godliness. And 3) The harvest is not immediate. So don't be discouraged because you must wait for the harvest. Occasionally there are early results, but usually, the harvest takes time to mature.
So just keep sowing those good seeds of good deeds.
God has promised us a blessing, so don't get impatient while you're waiting for your harvest. In due season you will reap!
I close with this simple question.
What are you sowing in your life?