Lesson 08 of the Follow Me Series
Followers are Fruitful
Grady Henley
May 2004
Key Verses:
1 Tim 3:14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:
1 Tim 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
INTRODUCTION:
One of the greatest illustrations found in the bible relating to living the Christian life is found in what the world calls ‘mother nature.’ Just where that term originated I am not sure. I suspect that Satan had something to do with it. The pagans worshipped many goddesses, many of whom were considered the mother(s) of creation.
By calling the changing cycles of life and seasons ‘mother nature,’ man takes his eyes off the biblical teachings and applications and views what is observed with the natural senses relating to ‘Mother Earth.’ Once a born again person begins to view the cycles of life in plants as a natural occurring event, something ‘Mother Nature’ handles, a great teaching truth is lost.
An unregenerate farmer will have a better understanding of what it takes to produce fruit, kind after his kind, than those who profess to know Jesus as Lord. The farmer is acutely aware each harvest season whether he will have a fruitful season or not. Sad it is that too many professing Christians have no idea whether or not their life is bearing fruit and many do not care.
The parable of the sower, found in Matthew 13:3, Mark 4:3, and Luke 8:5, is unique among all the parables. If faithful followers of the Lord intend on having any rewards, or if they have any aspirations of being fruitful, this parable must be a mainstay in their testimony. It is a condensed version of the life of every soul that has ever been born for it reveals what the individual does or does not do, allows or disallows, with the gospel message.
Briefly, let us consider this parable and compare it to what the farmer does every planting season with what the Lord intended for His children to do every day. By examining this parable, we have a better understanding of what God is trying to do in our lives. Through studying and applying what we learn, we are aware what the Lord of the harvest expects from us.
I. THE PATIENCE OF THE SOWER, Luke 8:5-15.
As we look into this parable, some things are quite evident. This parable is explained by the Lord. It is probably the simplest of all the parables to comprehend. The Sower is a picture of the Lord and typifies what each born again child of God should be doing: sowing the seed. The soil is a type of the heart of any that heard the gospel message. The seed falls into the good ground of the heart of a believer and from that seed, the believer is to become a sower of the good seed as well, after his kind, Gen. 1: 12. Furthermore, as types of the Lord, it is necessary that we allow Him to work in His field (our heart and lives) each day. This much is explained by the Lord in this parable to those that heard Him.
However, the genesis of this study is found in Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. Have we given much thought and prayer to that phrase of bringing forth fruit with patience? Have we considered just what fruit the Lord expects from us? We know about sowing the gospel seed and that it can regenerate a lost soul. Are there other types of fruit that we could be bearing?
During trials, persecutions, and sometimes daily living, we may begin to think God is working patience in us. To a large degree He is. However, what we often fail to realize is, that what He is really doing is teaching us obedience and discipline. We learn obedience when we allow patience to have her perfect work, James 1:4 "But let patience have her perfect work…”
It is rather difficult to discipline oneself to be patience. Without personal and spiritual discipline, we will not allow patience to work. This should cautions us to observe our attitudes more than our circumstances. God controls the circumstances. He does not control our free will. This means God is teaching us Christian maturity not sinless perfection by the things we endure!
The farmer has patience. He prepares the soil, plants, irrigates, tills, and fertilizes. Everything else is out of his hands! Patiently he waits the harvest season.
One of the easiest ways for Satan to distract us from maturing into that full man or woman of God so that we may produce much fruit, is to besiege us with problems. When we face problems of life, that God obviously is not going to remove, we should be submissive to His will and work. After all, the soil does not resist the farmer. “The oxen are slow, but the earth is patient.”
We must allow patience to work: Let (Permit this state of mind to be in you.) this mind be in you, Phil. 2:5. The question each of us should ask and honestly answer is: “Am I obedient or rebellious to His will during those trying times? Am I looking at Christ or am I focusing on the crisis?” My life is His field, so what is my response? There is more fruit in this field (my heart) than the gospel message.
Every good farmer rotates his pastureland. Sometimes the acreage lies fallow for a season or so. God commanded Israel to allow the land to have her rest, Exo 23:10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: Exo 23:11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
Rotating the land ensures that the land is not taxed beyond its ability to reproduce. If you think about it, you life has had its season of rotation as well. The reason for this is the Lord of the harvest is expecting a bountiful harvest from our lives.
A. The Perfect Work v. 4.
1 John 4:17-18 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Perfect does not always mean without error. It can mean complete. It is God's desire to do a complete work in us. If we allow him to do a perfect work, it will be a complete work. Our salvation is just one example of the many works (fruit) God is able to perform and harvest through the life of a believer.
As born again children of God there is a perfect work that God has for each of us to do. We might not be qualified to pastor. We may not be able to be a missionary. We may not have the talent to sing. It matters not. We can all be sowers of the gospel seed, if we prepare self for the task. We can all mature in the work wherein we are called to labor. We can all be Christ like.
By allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we can manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our daily conduct. Sowing the seed of the gospel is just one example of a perfect work. However, allowing that seed to work in our lives is the foundation upon which our life is based. Consider the actions of the sower:
1. Did the Sower cease to sow seeds just because the seeds did not all fall onto good ground? No. He continued to sow His seeds.
2. Did the sower run over there and pick up the seeds that fell among the thorns or on the stones? No.
3. Did the sower verbally abuse those that stamped the seeds under foot? No, He did not. He continued to sow the seeds.
4. Did the sower complain because so-and-so was not there to hear the message? No. The sower kept right on sowing the word. The same seed was sown to each one along the road of life the sower walked that day. Whether he had a bad day or not did not interfere with His task.
5. The Sower in the parable knew there is only one gospel seed and within that seed was the power to produce a harvest of patience, righteousness, longsuffering, etc.
6. Every time the Sower cast the seed, the fruit of the Spirit was manifested. Gal 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
When that good seed fell into the good soil of someone’s heart, He performed a perfect work of love called salvation. I hope that it fell in your heart as it did mine. If so, His desire is for each of us to show this work of love, regardless of the situations we are enduring or enjoying. In order for us to be fruitful, He must work a work in us.
What did the author of Hebrews say about Jesus? Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Babes in Christ must go through trials until they learn not to fear to sow the seed or His workings in our lives. Those that have aged and continue to sow must learn to have patience. We have to be an example to others that through patience we learn to rest on His promises.
1. As Christians, God wants us to be complete, v. 4.
When Israel was ready to go into the Promised Land, God told them they would lack nothing. He would supply all they needed. Deu 8:9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. 1 Th 4:12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
God does not do anything half way. He is all the way. He is not going to take us half way to heaven. He did not go half way to the cross. He went all the way and cried out it is finished. He completed everything.
This is what He expects of us as well. He wants completion in our lives so that we lack nothing. It is one thing to witness to some one and see them immediately accept the Lord as their Saviour. It is another thing all together to witness repeatedly to a loved one and watch them refuse to accept Him. It is during agonizing experiences such as these when He provides all that we need so that the work He intended for us to perform is complete. It is He that worketh, Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. That loved one does not reject us. That loved one rejected the One that loves them unto His death. When that gospel seed is rejected by a loved one, now is the time for Christian virtues to be manifested from us.
2. Perfection stabilizes the individual, v. 8.
God gave us a perfect book to use so we could know His will for our lives. 2 Tim 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. He also equipped us with perfect salvation, and now, His desire is for us to allow Him to work in us until we are complete.
Perfection keeps us from being tossed about on the waves of doubts and fears. Lost people will never see the benefits of salvation unless they see the fruit of the Spirit manifested in our lives.
Have you ever wondered why that loved one does not respond to the gospel invitation? Have you considered that perhaps you are the dominant influence in their life and what they see bears no resemblance to the fruit of the Spirit?
God told Israel that if they bear root downward, they would also bear fruit upward, Isa 37:31 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: Are we stable and steadfast in our Christian and church work? Can we be counted on to carry out our part each service? When lost folks view our lives and testimony, do they see the fruit of the Spirit or the workings of the flesh?
B. Patience Works.
"Let patience have her perfect work" implies that all too often we pray the trial to be removed before patience is finished. We want God to work in our life the way we want it and we want it NOW! If we ask for the trial to be removed or demand that everyone we witness to accept the gospel message, such is not going to happen. Rest assured we will be tried again until patience has completed the work God wanted performed in our lives.
Many that sat and listened and saw the miracles the Lord performed did not believe. They were eye witnesses and did not believe what they saw. Why then, do we expect that each time we witness, we should see someone get saved? True enough, His word will not return void. What we need to do is get our thoughts in line with His words. Not everyone we share the gospel with will accept it. Does that mean we quit? No, it means we will bear fruit if we are patience. Remember the Sower continued to sow the same seed, regardless of where the last handful fell.
When faced with a particular field of service, there may arise the urge to run, as did Jonah. One thing Jonah learned was the people in Nineveh were not near as repulsive as the belly of the whale. When we run, we become unstable, unfit for service, and unfruitful. 1 Cor 4: 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. It is always farther back than it was to our original destination.
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. Christians are supposed to grow to spiritual maturity, and produce fruit. Not all Christians are fruitful. Those that faithfully follow will be fruitful. (We are not commanded to be fruits, but we are commanded to be fruitful and multiply.) Young tender sprouts do not produce fruit. The aged tree or plant brings forth the fruit.
There is more fruit in your field than the basic gospel message. This lesson is what the Sower is trying to get us to understand when He stated that some brought forth a hundred fold and some sixty. He has patience with us, let us therefore be patience with Him.
Consider the parable in Luke 13:6-9 where a man had a fig tree that occupied a portion of his vineyard. (Have you ever wondered why a fig tree was planted in a grape vineyard?) Regardless, the fig tree was barren. The Dresser was commanded by the Owner (God of Creation) to cut it down for it was taking up space that another more fruitful tree could use. The Dresser (Jesus) interceded with the Owner (the Father) and said He would work the unfruitful tree and try to get it to produce. If after working with it, and should it remain unfruitful, then it would be cut down.
Did you realize that one of the things Jesus cursed was an unfruitful fig tree, Mat 21:19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. Each of us ought to consider the parable of the Sower along side the parable of the unfruitful fig tree. It will be a great shame to one day stand before the Lord of the Harvest (The Patience Sower and the Dresser of the Vineyard) and have no fruit. If we allow Him to work in our lives, we will continue to bear fruit even in our old age, Psa 92:12-15.
II. THE SEED.
Have you ever planted a garden? If so, you probably planted with seeds of one type or variety. As you held that seed in your hand, did you realize that unless it was planted, it would never produce the fruit contained within its tiny enclosure?
Seeds have been around since creation. They are great examples of faith and salvation. It takes a seed of faith planted in a heart to produce salvation. Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
In the act of creation, God gave us an illustration of what it takes for a Christian to bring forth fruit. If we examine, for example a peach, we have a picture of what God commanded concerning a Christian and how we are supposed to be fruit bearing trees. The peach is an edible fruit and comes ready made with a seed inside. Once the meat of the fruit has been consumed, the seed may be planted and in due time it will bring forth fruit again.
If we think of the many, many plants upon the face of the earth, the fruit tree is one of the greatest examples of Jesus Christ. Psa 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
A. Perfection In Creation.
Thinking back upon the creation story we realize how perfect and orderly it was. When God separated the land from sea, there was now present the natural order for plant life: oxygen, sun, and soil. The water beneath the atmosphere moved into what we know as the oceans and dry land appeared. God caused the earth to produce all the plant life that we see around us today and many that has been extinct for centuries.
Those plants that remain today, remain because they reproduced in the environment wherein the Creator placed them. Are you reproducing after your kind in your environment?
1. Miracles in creation, Gen. 1-2.
There are several great things in this miracle of creation that man with all his experience and wisdom cannot achieve. God produced only good plants, Gen 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Man of his own will cannot produce good. When man thought that he would become as wise as God, the fruit of his efforts was a curse, Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; There were no weeds or thorns or thistles in God’s original garden.
2. Catalogs.
Also, notice that in His original creation, God began to catalog life as He created it. He divided life into distinct groups called kinds. A kind is any living thing that can mate with another of its kind and produce offspring after their kind.
Here is a basic rule: Like begets like. That is, the peach tree brings forth peaches. Apple seeds are found in the fruit known as apples. Do not go to the peach tree expecting to find apples. This law is true in the animal kingdom. It is equally true in the human kingdom as well.
B. Christ beget Christians.
However, it is in the spiritual realm where we find the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan of like producing like. It is only there that the mind of man begins to comprehend the simplicity and the magnitude of our Creator. That one little phrase now takes on a different meaning when we apply the law to Christ and His seed.
It was only with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, four thousand years after creation where God initiated a law regarding the fruit tree that it would produce kind after its kind, do we this side of Calvary understand a little more of the workings of God in our lives.
God planned before the creation of the world that He would redeem mankind unto Himself. He would die. As one seed goes in the ground and the fruit that it produced brings forth many seeds, God intended all along that Christ would produce Christians, Acts 11:26. As the life of Christ to those that believe will produce Christians, even so Christians ought to produce more Christians. Kind after their kind. Sheep produce sheep. (It is not the burden of the Shepherd to produce sheep. His burden is to feed the sheep.)
1. His seed remains.
If you want to find a peach seed, one of the best places to look is in a peach. That seed taken from the peach and placed in the proper conditions will reproduce more fruit.
The Sower sowed His seed and upon it landing in the heart of one that received the engrafted word, produces more fruit. This is because His seed remains in us, so that we may be able to produce fruit after His kind for we read: 1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
His seed remains. What that means for us is we that are saved can not ever be lost. Else, that gospel seed would have to be replanted, and we would have to accept it again. Such planting and replanting would defeat the law of creation, kind after his kind, for we would constantly be in the process of being born again and never mature to bring forth fruit.
2. Incorruptible seed.
Have we grasp that phrase and fully understood what the Holy Spirit placed on paper? The SEED of the LORD remains within each of us that are born again, 1 Pet 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
We were born one time by corruptible seed, Gen 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: The new birth gave us Life from an Incorruptible Seed and this Life is as eternal as the Word of God.
Therefore, if we are the kind of Christians we ought to be, sowers of the word and allow that seed to remain active in us, we bear fruit after our kind because His seed remains in us.
3. Reaping what we sow.
Are you bearing any fruit? Remember, we reap what we sow. I recall many years ago there was an old song that we sang that went something like this: “Brother you’ll reap whatsoever you sow. The bible demands this we know. So sow the good seeds where so ever you go, For you’ll reap what so ever you sow.”
Even the lost will reap what they sow. They have no fruit to bear for the Lord, for they do the works of their father the devil. As we receive rewards for the work done in the Spirit, even so, they receive rewards after the workings of their father the devil, John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.
4. One seed to many.
As one seed enters the ground, it has the potential to produces an abundance of fruit. Furthermore, the individual fruit has one seed that has the potential to produce more and more fruit and seeds.
This is what Christians are supposed to be doing: bearing much fruit: 2 Cor 9:10 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;)
What is the fruit of (y)our righteousness? If we have the righteousness of Christ, we ought to be producing more Christians, Phil 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: If not, something is wrong with the soil or there is too much of something.
III. THE SOIL
There is nothing wrong with the Seed. There is nothing wrong with the patience of the Sower. If our lives are not bearing, the problem must lie elsewhere. The problem of fruitlessness must lie in the heart of man.
The heart of man is very much like a plot of soil. Though there are many things that man can add to the soil to better the harvest, man can only enhance what God provided.
In like manner, the heart of man determines the harvest. God is willing to put time and effort into the heart of a lost soul to get them saved. He is more than willing to put time and effort in the life of a saved soul to assist them in producing kind after their kind. What we have to do is count it a joy that God is working in us so that we may continue to bear fruit. Once we begin to produce fruit, kind after our kind as ordered in creation, Gen. 1:11, 12, 21, 24, 25, we begin mature into that complete man of God.
God is patience with us. He knows that in our heart there is no good thing of our own making, Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: Mat 15:20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. If there is any good coming from us, it is because God spent time working on our heart so that we would have a heart for the things of God.
The soil does not resist the plow.
From this we understand God is not slothful in His dealings with us. He knows the only goodness in us was placed there by the gospel seed of regeneration. In order for that goodness to manifest itself, it will take effort on our part by way of His working in our lives for that fruit to manifest itself into good works.
If we consider the daily events in the life of a farmer, we understand that if he is to have a bountiful harvest, there is on thing he cannot be and that is lazy. It takes hard manual labor to be a successful farmer. There are also other commodities that he must used to his advantage, two of which are:
1. Patience. He must allow patience to have her perfect work.
2. Endurance. He must endure things that go beyond his scope of control. He must wait patiently for sunshine and rain in their balance or else his efforts are in vain. Conditions must be right for the seed to germinate.
The farmer works the soil, but the yield is out of his control.
A. Working The Soil
Working the soil is hard, dirty, dusty, muddy, and time consuming labor. I recall my early years on the farm when my daddy plowed a field with a horse. He taught me to plow at about the age of seven. I could not plow near as straight a furrow or row as my dad, but then again, he was the teacher. Regardless, I learned early in life that there were easier ways to make a living.
1. Many steps lead up to the harvest.
The farmer surveys a plot of soil and determines that it has the potential for growing crops. Never-the-less, he does not run out there and begin planting the seeds. In order for a plot of ground to produce fruit, several things must happen. Those things must be done are accomplished in sequential order, much like the order of creation. God is the God of order.
Some of them are:
1. The plot of ground must be purchased. It would be foolish for the farmer to plant a crop on the property of another without permission or some regulations concerning the harvest.
· 1 Cor 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. God is not a sharecropper. He redeemed you on Calvary and has first and last say over our lives. There was a very large ransom placed upon us. The sum was so large that it had to be redeemed in blood. Therefore, we ought to be more cautious regarding our conduct and what we allow into this plot of flesh.
· This plot of ground, known as our life, is His to do with as He pleases. He has the title deed to this piece of property. He fully expects to receive a return on His investment.
· God does not expect fruit of the Spirit to come forth from those that have not been regenerated.
2. The ground must be fenced. The farmer will not allow his farmland to be overrun with animals. Animals will either eat the tender plants or trample the plants so that they are not able to produce. A fence is a necessity for the farmer.
· Once the land is fenced, the stones must be removed. Isa 5:2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
· Though the passage in Isaiah referred directly to the nation of Israel, the church age saints can apply the text as well, for we as mankind in general, where the crowning work of creation. We were the choicest vine and should have brought forth the sweetest and choicest fruit. Such was not the case. Sin hindered.
· I recall many years ago as a lad in San Augustine, Co. Texas, my dad decided to plant a crop in what was commonly called ‘new ground.’ New ground is ground that has not been planted. In order to ensure that his labors were not in vain, my dad fenced the plot of ground to keep out the unwanted. It took about a week to build the fence. Regardless, the fence was a necessity.
· After we had the fence up, my dad begins to clear the land. I was rather young, but I helped as much as I could. We cut brush. We removed the rocks. We pulled up stumps.
· Thus far, we were into about two months of labor and have yet to plant the first seed. What this means is in order to plant in the spring, we had to prepare the soil in late fall and on into the winter months.
3. Once we removed the obstacles from the land, it was time to plow the soil. Up before sunrise, hitching that horse to the plow, the task began of breaking up the new ground. Dad rose up early so (Next time you are reading your bible, make note of the times you come across the phrases: rose up early, arose early, etc. Simply stated it means if we are going to do anything for the Lord, we must get started early in the day.) that he could work before the sun was hot in the day. Though we removed the rocks and roots from the surface days before, once that soil was disturbed there were more rocks and roots to be removed.
4. Luke 13:8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it,:
· Such is the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit touches our stone cold heart and revives it unto salvation. Then as we begin to study the word, more unwanted items (sins) begin to show.
· It is one thing to know that the sin is there. It is another altogether to remove it.
· My dad made sure that those rocks and roots that he turned up with the plow were removed. I was the one that removed them. I would go down the rows and make piles of roots about every 10 to 15 feet. Then we would come back down the row with a wagon and load them up for burning. The reason for their removal was they would hinder the sowing. If the sowing is hindered, so is the tilling, and thus, the harvest is hindered as well.
· Even so, once the Holy Spirit commences working in accord with the word of God in our lives, we begin to realize there are more items (sins) that have come to the surface. These must be removed as they are unnecessary and will hinder our sowing, prevent the Master from tilling the fertile soil of our lives, and these sins left in our lives will prevent us from having a bountiful harvest.
· If those sins are not removed, they will soon be covered again and we will be continually uprooting and covering and never removing. (Prov 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.)
· Would it not be nice just to cast your seed upon a plot of soil, set back and rack in the harvest? Such does not happen in the real world. It does not happen in the spiritual either.
5. After all those hours of labor, my dad was now ready to plant the seeds. Many times sowing the seeds was a family affair. Dad would have the entire family in the plot sowing seeds. These joint efforts ensured that the seeds where planted in a timely fashion for the soil was made ready. If dad delayed in sowing, all the above labor was for naught. Eccl 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Eccl 3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
· So, it is in the spiritual realm as well. Someone must sow the seed, 1 Cor 3:6 I have planted, Paul was well aware that unless there was a season of planting, there would no harvest, Prov 24:30-34. As those steps above revealed Paul planted only after the field was prepared. 2 Tim 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; Be ready in an instant to sow that seed, whether it be the gospel of salvation or that seed that will reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. Someone before you has already prepared the field.
· Such is the way God works. In order to win that lost soul, it might take many return visits so that the unwanted and unnecessary false doctrine and teachings can be stripped away so that the gospel seed can penetrate to the heart.
· Even after salvation, it could very well take many sermons before the message of being fruitful takes root in the heart (soil) of a believer. With each sermon more and more items of the world are removed so that the individual can concentrate on the things of God.
· These return visits, whether to get a wayward sheep back into the fold or to win a lost soul is the fertilize, Luke 13:8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it dung it. Are you prepared to return to that lost loved one, that friend, or stranger to share the gospel? Are you patiently dressing the ground?
6. The fence remains in its place. The seed is in the field. At this time much of what transpires over the next few months is out of the control of the farmer. One thing that he certainly will need is water for his crop. This water must come in the right amount and at the right time. Too much rain will rot the seed or wash away the plants. Not enough rain will cause the plants to wither and die.
· Farmers today that farm on a large scale have the ability to irrigate their crops. Even after he irrigates the land today, a severe rainstorm may flood his field tomorrow. Furthermore, there may be a drought and his supply of water may be limited.
· Such is the life of a farmer. One thing is most certain about a farmer and that is he has the love of the land in his blood. If this year’s harvest is good, next year he will try for one better.
· That gospel seed planted in the good soil of that thirsty lost soul, must be watered with the water of Life. Paul planted, Apollos water, 1 Cor 3:6, at the right time. The labor does not stop here for someone came along and brought a latter rain, a follow up visit.
· Do you recall a time in your life when someone was on your mind? There was nothing out of the norm in your day, but that special someone stayed on your mind until you stopped what you were doing and called him or her. Was it a surprise when the person responded something to the effect that they were thinking of you as well? Is such a thing as this a mere chance? No. It is the workings of the Holy Spirit. This is your opportunity to offer a word fitly spoken, Prov 25:11. This is your opportunity to bring water in the latter season, Joel 2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
IV. NO CONTROL.
After the fencing, plowing, uprooting, sowing, irrigating, etc. the farmer walks through his field with his hands tied. Not tied literally, but tied in the sense that what happens now is out of his control
Golden Nugget Biblical Illustration: A few years ago, the Associated Press released a study done by an agricultural school in Iowa. It reported that production of 100 bushels of corn from one acre of land, in addition to the many hours of the farmer's labor, required 4,000,000 pounds of water, 6,800 pounds of oxygen, 5,200 pounds of carbon, 160 pounds of nitrogen, 125 pounds of potassium, 75 pounds of yellow sulphur, and other elements too numerous to list. In addition to these things, which no man can produce, rain and sunshine at the right time are critical. It was estimated that only 5% of the produce of a farm could be attributed to the efforts of man. If we were honest, we would have to admit that the same is true in producing spiritual fruit.
A. Pruning and Purging.
After all those things that the farmer cannot control come together in the desired amounts and at the proper time, a tiny sprig begins to push its way upward through the soil. This first sign of new life was the results of the seed germinating in the soil in harmony with the water, sunshine, minerals and nutrients. Within that tiny shoot growing so slowly that the eye cannot see its movement, contains the DNA and RNA that will produce more seeds or fruit.
1. More undesirables.
In just a matter of days the plants are growing larger and larger. Though the farmer has not worked as hard since the sowing was finished, this is about to change. Now he must again work the soil. There are weeds growing with his crops. He must now go back into the field and begin removing or killing the weeds. This effort will take much time, money, patience, and skill. The farmer must kill the weeds without killing or hindering the plant.
Not only are there weeds growing with his crop, there are insects that waste no time in eating the tender vegetation. A fence may keep out larger animals, but the birds of the field and insects can wreck havoc on his crop as well. These undesirables must be kept out; else they will destroy his crop.
2. Pruning.
Depending upon his crop, the farmer may find it necessary to prune the plants. What is pruning? Proper pruning (Cutting away superfluous branches or undesired growths) enhances the beauty of almost any landscape tree and shrub. Why prune? The reason that some plants must be pruned is to train the plant, maintain the plant, improve the quality of the fruit, and to restrict the growth.
Not only must the farmer know why it is necessary to prune, he must know also:
Ø When to prune.
§ To cut away at the wrong time can kill the plant.
Ø How to prune.
§ The husbandman must have a plan and a mental picture of what he wants his garden, tree, or orchard to look like when he is finished. To begin cutting away randomly will not bring out the best of his labor, neither will it enhance a good crop.
Ø Use the right tool.
§ This task must be done with the proper tools by someone that knows what they are doing and how to use the tool.
Ø Dress the cut.
§ Should the plant be wounded, it will need to be dressed so that it may heal.
Ø What to cut.
§ Cutting away the wrong growths or cutting at the wrong angle will not bring about the desired affect. Furthermore, making the wrong cuts could kill the tree or shock it into not producing.
Pruning is an act performed by another on the outward.
3. Purging, John 15:1-2.
Purging! Just the thought of the word brings to mind an action intended to remove residue or unwanted debris by way of cutting or by heating the surface and blowing across it with an external force to remove the unwanted. Purging can also bring to mind death for King Solomon purged the kingdom of Israel of unsavory characters, 1 Kings Ch. 1-2.
Purging is a task that, though it is unpleasant, must be done. The word purgeth appears only one time in the bible (Thought there are variants forms of the word therein as well.) and occurrenced in John 15:2. Strong’s Concordance defines the word as: 2508. kathairo, kath-ah'ee-ro; from G2513; to cleanse, i.e. (spec.) to prune; fig. to expiate:--purge. 2513. katharos, kath-ar-os'; of uncert. affin.; clean (lit. or fig.):--clean, clear, pure.
If the word translated purgeth, John 15:2, means prune, as the NIV translated it, why then did the King James Bible translators opt to use the word purgeth? Though their reason is not stated, the spiritual application must suffice for an answer.
To prune is to “Nip it in the bud” (Barney Fife, The Andy Griffith Show). The act of pruning does not make one pure and clean spiritually. Pruning brings about an outward change. A gardener may prune a tree during the winter month. Regardless, in the spring a new growth will begin where the old one was removed.
However, purging brings about an inward spiritual change. 1 Cor 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: From this we understand that, that which is manifested as works of the flesh, comes from the heart, Mat 15:18-20. If we therefore expect to be fruitful in our daily living, we must purge sin from our heart. Once our lives are purged and sin removed in the purging, we are a vessel fit for the Master’s service. Sin limits are usefulness.
Thus, the NIV translators missed a very important spiritual truth when they translated the word as prune instead of leaving it as the King James so righteously stated.
The Master Gardner of our life knows when and how to prune. If we are wise we will know when and what to purge. Else, the Master Gardner will prune what we failed to purge. Doc Henley
B. God Gave The Increase.
1 Cor 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
1. Labor not in vain, 1 Cor 15:58.
The farmer, after giving many, many days to hard toil and labor, after spending his energies and monies, must now wait. He endured the physical pain. He rose early; went to bed late. He breathed the dust. He wiped the sweat from his brow just as God told his grandfather Adam he would. He removed the thorns and thistles so the tender shoots would not be choked. He sprayed for bugs. Once the plants and trees begin to produce limbs and vines in the wrong places, he pruned his crop.
He can do nothing more or less to ensure that he will have a harvest. All he can do is wait. He cannot make the seeds grow. He cannot make the rainfall at the right time. He cannot make the sun shine to perfection. All he could do was do a perfect work with the tools made available unto him. That he did. Now he waits
2. Due Season, Gal 6:7-9.
If you ever lived on a farm or worked with someone who owned a farm, you know there is much anxiety at this time of the years. The plants are growing, but there is no fruit. It will be weeks before the fruit begins to develop and fill his field with a harvest.
Without a good crop the farmer could go bankrupt. He has bills to pay, children to raise, and the livelihood of his family depends on a good crop. He walks the rows looking at the plants. He thinks back on what all he has done and hopes that he has not forgotten something. There are still many weeks until harvest season. Regardless, he visualizes an abundant crop.
How is it with us? Have we considered our due season? Have we:
1. Done all we can do to ensure that we have an abundant harvest one day?
2. Have we done a perfect work by spreading the perfect gospel seed?
3. Did we exhort someone to have a closer walk with the Lord?
4. Are we allowing Him to do a perfect work in us?
5. Have we allowed patience to run her course?
6. Did we try to sow the seed and find out that there was more work than we originally estimated?
7. Did we purge those unnecessary things from our lives?
8. Have we used the tools made available unto us so that we work that seed into the soil of a heart?
9. Where we too worried about where the seeds were falling?
10. Have we prayed for God to remove something or someone from our lives instead of asking God to use us so that He receives glory?
V. HARVEST DAYS:
The time is at hand and the days of harvest arrived. After waiting for months, enduring things that he could not control, walking out every day and looking at the plants to determine when the fruit is at its height of perfection, it is now harvest time.
The harvest is actually the easiest lot for the farmer. If he had a bad planting or growing season, it will not take him long to harvest his crops. It he has a good harvest, he rejoices in the abundance that God provided him with.
A. Certainties:
There are some certainties relating to the harvest:
(1) There will be no harvest unless some seeds were planted.
(2) There will be no seeds planted, unless the sower rises early, works late. and sows the seed.
(3) The seeds will not germinate unless the soil (heart) is made ready.
What is evident is the end results are determined by the first steps along the way and by God giving the increase.
1. Few there be.
Everyone wants to help in selling the crop. What they actually want is a share of the money, regardless of their involvement. The big problem is there are so few that wanted to take part in the tilling, the planting, the purging, the pruning, etc. Many times the lowly farmer found himself working alone. Folks were just too busy elsewhere to work in the Master’s field. Some said they would work, but never did make it to the vineyard, Mat 21:28-31. A few of the labors were carried away into temptation, Luke 8:13. Still others had their desire choked by the cares of the world, Luke 8:14. It is very difficult to find good steady, dependable help. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
2. Ripe for the taking.
In the very near future, there will be a harvest, one like the world has never seen. Today, the fruit is on the ground. One does not even need to climb the tree (Jesus climbed the tree, took His place to ensure that there would be a harvest of souls one day) to get to it. The fruit is right in front of each of us every day in the people we meet on the road of life. Some of these we talk with are blinded by the wiles of Satan. Other, are caught up in the ways of the world. It is up to us to testify of the upcoming harvest and the consequences each must pay.
Rev 14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. Rev 14:15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. Rev 14:16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. Rev 14:17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. Rev 14:18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. Rev 14:19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Each of us ought to pray everyday unto the Lord of the harvest and ask Him to put a burden in our hearts for the lost and those that the cares of the world are ensnaring. John 4:34-35. The fields are white unto the harvest. Who will go labor with the Lord of the harvest?
B. The Gathering.
The farmer walks into his fields and observes the fruit hanging on the vines and the branches. As he looks upon his labors, he visualizes his barns filled and realizes that he will have a plenteous harvest.
It is at this time that the thankful farmer realizes the miracle of ‘kind after its kind’ as the Lord so stated during the creative days of the earth:
§ The farmer planted a seed in the soil.
§ From that seed sprang forth a plant.
§ The plant in due time begin to produce fruit.
§ Within the fruit was a replica of the seed that went into the soil.
§ However, that one seed produced multitudes of seeds, each with the ability to reproduce multitudes more.
The miracle of ‘kind after its kind’ is seen in the new birth given by the Lord of the Harvest.
§ His body of flesh went into the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea, Mat 27:60.
§ Three days later He came forth in a glorified body void of blood, Luke 24:39.
Many have lived to a ripe old age, more than their allotted threescore ten. The skin that covered their frail bones and sinew looked much like a shriveled seed that the farmer sowed on the days he planted. Others went into the grave with a body that had not experienced old age. Even then, in that damp dark grave those bodies decayed and became part of the earth. Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Have you ever thought how those words cut to the soul of Adam? There he was standing there in front of his Creator. He was already ashamed of his vile deeds. Then, the Lord told him something to the effect: “Adam you are nothing but dust.”)
Each of us has at one time or the other stood at the graveside and watched the body of our loved ones be lowered into the soil. Our souls are sorrowful, but even in our sorrow we should not sorrow as those that have no hope, 1 Th 4:13-14. If that loved one had that Eternal seed implanted into their being, one day they will come forth with other believers and we shall be reunited.
Jesus Christ reproduced ‘kind after His kind.’ Because He is Lord of the Resurrection and Harvest, God is able to bring life back to that dead body. Such was what He did to the flesh of Abraham and Ole Abe believed God was able to do that which He promised, Rom 4:20-22. It was not long until Abraham was the father of a bouncing baby boy. Not one, but several.
The question each of us must answer is do we believe that which we read? Do we believe as did the father of all believers that on that glorious day our dead mortal bodies will come forth with everlasting life in an immortal glorified body?
1 Cor 15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
1 Cor 15:36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
1 Cor 15:37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
1 Cor 15:38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
VI. THE FRUIT AND THE REWARDS.
Once the harvest is passed, the fruit is now ready to be processed. Just because the farmer brings in a crop of corn, does not mean that the corn is immediately ready for human consumption. The fruit has some foreign objects attached to it that must be removed. After the trash is removed, the fruit must be processed and stored.
For the Christian the processing is done at the Judgment seat of Christ, 1 Cor 3:10-15. It is there that the refining process removes those alien objects from our being. God is going to remove those things that we failed to allow the word and Holy Spirit to purge from our being. “You can remove that sin now; or you can have it removed later. Regardless, it will be removed.”
Every day of our lives, regardless of the situations we were in, we laid up treasures in heaven, or we laid up treasure here on earth. We allowed the fruit of the Spirit to be manifested in our lives or we manifested a work of the flesh. Our rewards are dependent upon how we responded to His working in our lives: our heart. Our rewards are dependent upon us allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.
The farmer realizes that he is only going to get out of his field, that which he put into it. This was covered in the steps of tilling, weeding, pruning, etc.
Christian friend, our only harvest will be that which we put into this life and we must be careful upon what we built this life. Hopefully, that which we receive a reward for one day came from a clean heart dedicated to manifesting Jesus Christ. If you live like a Pharisee, expect a Pharisee’s reward.
The biblical principle that God will use for processing His fruit is found in 2 Pet. 1:5-8 and Gal. 5:22-24. There we find that when we accepted that gospel seed, we were also supposed to add some things that make us more and more like Christ. It was when we allowed Him to do a perfect work in us that the fruit of the Spirit is manifested. Manifestations of the Spirit in our lives are the basis for us receiving our rewards.
Once we stand before Him, we will see the fruit of our labor. It is there we will see what we could have received vs. what we were awarded. Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. The soil in our heart was tested with the things we endured in this life. Once God begins the refining process, He reveals to each of us what we were capable of bearing, but He will also reveal what we bore.
Mat 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. What made the differences in the yield? It was the same Sower, sowing the same seed to everyone. The difference was the heart into which the good seed fell. Some people allowed that seed to work patience in their lives so that one seed brought forth a hundred fold.
Some only thirty. John 4:36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. Some took that which was given to them and hid it so that what they had was taken and give to other, Luke 19:12-24. Eternal rewards await those that put forth a bit of labor in the Lord’s fields.
CONCLUSION:
The work of sowing the gospel seed and the Holy Spirit working the heart of man is now over 2,004 years old. That is a good solid tradition and each of us must persevere that we will not be the one that fainted and cease to sow the perfect seed of the gospel. What a shame for us to stand before Him one day and listen to that cloud of witnesses chide us for not allowing him to work in our lives as He did theirs, Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
The gospel message has not changed, but it continues to change every life when it falls into the good soil of an obedient heart. Each of us ought to endeavor to allow that Holy Seed of faith to produce a harvest in our lives so that everyone that sees us will know what we are because of the fruit we bear.
A good tree brings forth good fruit and a good tree the pride of the Husbandman. Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Psa 126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Psa 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Though Mendel was Catholic Creationist, he seems to have understood ‘kind after his kind.’ Furthermore, with Mendel publishing the truth about creation, the world opted to take the words and works of Darwin.
http://www.creationsafaris.com/wgcs_4.htm
good reading.
