It Starts Small

I love to grow things. I had hoped I could garden this year. I started my tomatoes and other plants, but my path took steep uphill climb and although I can’t grow hose plants, I believe I’ll still have opportunity to grow something this year. I love gardening because there’s so many times between God and plants. By that I mean there’s so many word pictures between the two. We could talk about seeds. We could talk about nurturing and growing. We could talk about the soil needed for seeds to grow.

In the world today, we often repeat the phrase, “you reap what you sow.” Mostly it’s used when trouble comes to a person’s life. God has many laws. He has the law of grace and mercy that broke Levitical law. He also has the law of harvest.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 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. Galatians 6:7-8

God’s laws do not fail! We don’t break these laws, we demonstrate them. If you plant corn, you don’t reap wheat. If you plant wheat, you don’t reap rye. When a grain of wheat is planted, you reap more than just one grain of wheat. The material is a reflection of the spiritual. We don’t often reap right away. It takes time to grow a crop before it is harvested. This morning I read Psalms 38. It’s David’s words of harvest. The reaping of the crops he planted. I was reminded of the law of harvest. There’s 4 parts to this law.

#1 Planting a field of Sin

He that Soweto to the flesh shall reap corruption… Galatians 6:8

Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. Job 4:8

Our setting for understanding the law of harvest is set in 2 Samuel 12. David had committed adulatory and to cover it up, he murdered his girlfriend’s husband. He married her right away to cover up a child conceived. Days after the child was born, he died.

Planting Wickedness: David listed after Bathsheba. Instead of fleeing fornication, he was drawn into it. He took her to be his knowing she was married to another man. He showed seeds of covetousness, envy, adulatory, lying, fornication, and lust.

Growing the Harvest: These seeds grew. He tried to cover up his affair by having her husband killed. In the end, the child died.

Reaping: Amnon, his son, was a wicked man. He raped his half sister Tamar. Absalom, David’s other son avenged Tamar and killed Amon. Absalom rebelled against his father. Moab, David’s commander killed Absalom against the king’s wishes.

1st Crop: baby son died.

2nd crop: rape (sexual lust)

3rd crop: murder

David reaped what he sowed. He reaped the sexual lust and murder he committed. He reaped more than what he had planted. His son reaped his half sister and his other son killed his brother. He reaped later than he sowed.

Even today, I am reaping what I sowed. Even though I’m walking right, with the Spirit, what I sowed long ago is still being harvested. We are not free from the consequences of our sin. I can only pray for God’s love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness to fill the hearts of those I have sinned against, to choose the law of grace over the law of Leviticus.

#2 Sowing is true with Christ

We talked about how sin reaps what is sown, reaped more than sown, and reaped later, but what about in the Gospel and our hearts?

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. Galatians 6:8

If we plant the seeds of Christ, they will grow as you water them. Water is a vital part of growing plants. If we don’t water the plants they dry out and die. Remember the broken vessels? When clay becomes hard and dried out, God can not mold that clay. We need water. We need living water.

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:37-38

We need to ember God’s garden formula:

He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Psalm 126:6

Going. Sowing. Weeping. Reaping.

The seed is the Word of God we water with our tears.

I hated crying. Before this last year I felt tears were what showed my weaknesses. Tear showed me to be weak. Tears told others what I cared about or that I was hurting and others would or had taken advantage of those moments to hurt me.

I’m not afraid of crying in front of others. I have joyful tears when I talk about things of this last year. I have tears when I’m praying and calling out to God to turn things around. Save my family. Save my marriage. I have tears when I talk about the things that happen because I know the depth of hurt and pain. I have tears when I watch a Dog’s Purpose because I love my dog and he’s my friend. I have tears in the quiet early hours sitting in silence talking to the Holy Spirit searching in my heart for truth and understanding.

I’m not afraid to show others my hurt, my suffering, my joy, and what I care about. When we sow the seeds of God’s Word, we water them with our tears because of our faith, trust, and belief in a God who loves us. We share that Word with others and as we weep over them, our tears water the seeds to grow.

There are no farms without farmers. There are no farmers without seeds to grow.

#3 Stewardship – Get your overalls on!

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6

If we sow seeds sparingly, we can expect to reap sparingly. Sow bountifully and we can expect a bountiful harvest. Giving is not God’s way of making us poor. Giving is a way of enriching us. We sow by giving. We give our time, talents, and offering to further the gospel to all places.

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38

If a farmer puts a few seeds down,he’s going to get a few seeds back. If he plants a ton, he’s going to get a ton back. The only way to get is to give.

How do we give?

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

1. Without Carefulness: We prepare our offerings and pray over our offerings, but we don’t scheme or plan according to what serves us best.

2. Without Complaint: we don’t give because we have to. Don’t give with a grudge. God never forces us to give.

3. Compulsion: Don’t give because emotion dictates you need to. How often have you seen those animal cruelty commercials. The images of skinny dogs who have been starved and abused. The sad solemn music that for just $1.00 a day you can provide that dog with food, water and shelter. It tugs at the heart strings. Emotionally you want to do something. Don’t give off of emotion. Don’t give because someone is twisting your arm.

4. Cheerfully: we should always give out of joy! I look forward to payday, not because there’s funds to pay bills, but the first thing I do is look at my gross pay and see what I get to give back. It’s exciting to know that God uses what he gives me to, to give back to him, to further the gospel!

When we give what do we get back? If God says the only way to get is to give, what is his promises of getting?

1. God will give me what I need:

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: 2 Corinthians 8

God is going to make sure I have everything I need.

2. God measures my righteousness by how much I love him. I give because I love him and he gives back according to how much I love him.

(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. 2 Corinthians 9:9

3. God multiplies to give even more. God will give us more than enough so the enough can be given to whom he needs.

Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) 2 Corinthians 9:10

The more we give, the more we get. The more we get, the more we give!

4. God ministers true riches. God doesn’t just bless the pocketbook. He blesses us in many ways!

Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) 2 Corinthians 9:10

He gives us more love to love other. He gives us more grace to give to others. He gives us more mercy to give to others. He blesses our talents and time to give to others.

#4 Harvest brings True Salvation

Where do we plant our seeds? Our seeds are planted in our heart. My heart used to be a dump. A wasteland. A place only a nasty vine of bitterness and hate grew. It blossomed and multiplied. It took the righteous fire of Jesus to come in and remove all the junk, but that wasn’t enough.

Jesus had to purify the ground. He had to touch me with healing and overcoming to make my heart a fertile place to plant God’s Word. He had to till loose the rocks and break up the almost hardened clay ground. He had to rework the soil so that it was free of the oil and chemicals left over from removing the junk piles.

If we want to live externally we have to die with Christ in the cross. The only way to a true transformation of those junk yards in the middle of our spiritual chest is to die to it. We need Jesus to come in and transform our field into his field. He is the master farmer, master gardener. We need to say “no” to the old way of gardening and quit being the master of our lives. We need to accept and receive Jesus’ help.

Is it time for a good old spring cleaning of your heart? The beautiful part is you don’t have to wait until winter is over. Spring can forever be a season in your heart if you welcome it.