The Miracle of the seed
Gal. 6:1-5, 7-10 Msg.
1-3 Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.
4-5 Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.
7-8 Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest.
*The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds.
*All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds!
*But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
9-10 So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good.
*At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit.
*Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.
Verse 1, starts by saying to live creatively...looking for an opportunity to help or sow into your fellow man’s life, reserving your comments or what you think, for you yourself may need to be helped as well at any moment.
Don’t pay so much attention to what others are doing, Pay attention to what God has given you to do. The Bible says, if you think you’re above that… You are mistaken and you have another thing coming!
Sometimes our will gets in the way, doesn’t it?
Our will is like a pressure switch. When it gets to be too much for us to handle, we activate our pressure switch and we shut off or shut down whatever we don’t think we can do or handle.
Our will is a manufactured pressure switch between us and God. A pressure switch is designed to limit and control how much gets let through it. We can have as little or as much of God we want in our lives at any given moment, and He has the resources to deliver!
When it comes to the things God has to offer, why would we ever want to limit the good things God has in store and planned for us?
Every Christian knows the way, because that attained knowledge of the truth, is what drew them to Christ. Everyone who knows the way, has seed to be planting, or sharing! It’s not up to us to determine what kind of harvest will be reaped! That’s God responsibility and He knows His job very well!
If we get into the idea of determining the harvest, all the seed we have access too, will never be sown and the harvest to be reaped will be limited to our understanding!
The Bible says the two greatest commandments are to, love the Lord your God with all your strength, mind and spirit! And....Love your neighbor as yourself!
There’s always that one neighbor, everybody says is hard to be around, let alone love! But that’s what the Bible says to be doing, loving God and loving people! Our text says if you think you’re above that, you’re mistaken.
And our response is really? Do you know my neighbor? Does your neighbor know you really know the Lord?
What’s your preconceived idea of a harvest, compared to God’s?
Maybe for most of us here in this rural area - it is fields of corn and beans.
But what does a harvest look like for you?
We all have the opportunity to plant and water, its not up to each of us to decide what its going to be, it’s up to God!
TBS.(the bible says) Not to waste any opportunities!
That means we need to be on the lookout. We need to be ready to respond.
We need to have the mindset of, it’s not what kind of seed can I plant today.
I have the right seed to plant, no matter what kind of seed is required, I’m tapped into the source that all seed springs from!
"Who can I bless today?" "who can I do a favor for?" You can’t just sit back and wait for the need to come to you.
Sometimes the soil won’t always be prepared to receive the seed, sometimes you may have to till up the soil a little bit before you plant the seed. Sometimes you just may need to till the soil and someone else will plan to seed.
Sometimes you may be the one to water, or provide the sunshine or shade at the right time, or all of the above. There is no level of preparation to great or small in the growing process, before the harvest!
This morning, lets look at 3 areas of understanding about the harvest you need know, to reap your harvest.
The first area of harvest you need to understand is….
1. You will always reap what you sow
The harvest is the result of what you sow, our text says:
*The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds.
*All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds!
*But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
In 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 Msg. Paul writes -
6-7. Remember: “A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. ( you get to decide what kind of crop you want to reap)
Everyone needs to make up your own mind what you will give.
God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. (God loves to bless us, and He also loves it when we bless others)
8-11. God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything,
more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it,
*He throws caution to the winds,
giving to the needy in reckless abandon.
*His right-living, right-giving ways
never run out, never wear out.
This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you.”
Sometimes, most times, it’s difficult to deal with others the way we want God to deal with us, isn’t it?
Extravagant; Webster defines it this way:
1. spending too much: characterized by excessive spending
2. beyond what is reasonable: exaggerated
3. flamboyant: profusely or exaggeratedly decorated, decorative, or showy
4. abundant: existing or produced in quantity
That’s how God is with you and wants you to be with others!
(“giving to the needy in reckless abandon)
That’s not what the hoard mentality of the world teaches and what society has been taught! TBS. *His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out.”
Have you ever tried to outgive God?
Try as you may, You can not out give God!! It will never happen.
I heard of an evangelist one time, and he preached about obeying the voice of the Lord and giving large to the kingdom of God. He would tell how he would test the Lord as Malachi instructs.
Malachi 3:10 NKJ
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
He would tell how it started small, with small things and how would think about God’s instructions and finally obey and how God would give back to him with larger things than he had given.
As his relationship and trust grew, so did his response time. Until one day the Lord prompted him to give everything he had away! So he did, only this time he didn’t wait and think about it, he just did what God told him to do!
And his thinking was I Gacha this time God, I got you this time! Just when he thought maybe he had out given God, someone walked up to him and gave him a jet airplane. And he thought great, that’s great, now I have a really expensive airplane to fly all over the world and no way to pay for the gas.
And the next thing you know, the person that walked up to him telephone rang and instructed the man to tell him, the one who gave him the airplane would also buy the gas and maintain the craft, and provide the crew and all the costs associated with the plane as well!
And at that moment, the man said God spoke to him and said “you think you got me?” nice try, but you will never out give me!
“God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done.”
Sow with reckless abandon, like God is going to be in charge of all the equipment needed to harvest what your your sowing!
What kind of harvest do you want?
The question gives new meaning to “you reap what you sow” when God’s involved in it, doesn’t it?
2. The Harvest is a Process
TBS.(the bible says) “Do not grow weary in well doing”
Don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up….
Your harvest will not happen over night. It will take time. Blessings come through understanding your harvest.
Mark 4:26-32 MSG.
26-29. Then Jesus said, "God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it.
The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens.
The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—harvest time!
30-32"How can we picture God’s kingdom? What kind of story can we use?
It’s like a pine nut. When it lands on the ground it is quite small as seeds go, yet once it is planted it grows into a huge pine tree with thick branches. Eagles nest in it.”
Harvest is not just an event, it is a process of many phases.
The same holds true with our spiritual lives too!
spiritual growth happens through a process, not one single event.
Our lives are defined by opportunities, choices, problems, and victories.
“All things work together, for them that love the Lord …..”
What we so often see as the event, is usually one of two things -
* the end of the process or
* the beginning of the process
It’s the in between that counts, “it’s the journey” (the growing period)
Mark 4 it says:
"God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it.”
While you may forget about the seed sown, Doesn’t mean you should ever not expect it to take root and grow. The Bible says God’s word never returns void, and it’s the same with His seed sown that He has given us to share!
How many times has God answered your need greater than you expected? Every time right? What if your expectation was always greater, each time you ask him to bless you and meet your needs?
Start expanding your expectation!
Proverbs 4:20-23 NKJ.
20. My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21. Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22. For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
23. Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues ( or the dimensions) of life.
The harvest is a process, when it comes time to reap you must be ready!
Isaiah 54:2 HCSB.
2. "Enlarge the site of your tent,
and let your tent curtains be stretched out; do not hold back;
lengthen your ropes,
and drive your pegs deep.
New Living Translation, says it better;
2.“Enlarge your house; build an addition; spread out your home!
3. For you will soon be bursting at the seams.
When it comes time to reap it is too late to do the building and extensions. You have to be ready to receive the harvest!
3. Harvest Time is a season - a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time or due season.
In the Greek, there are two words used to define time.
Chronos is the word from which we get the word chronological – normal, general time.
Kairos however means - a fixed and definite time, opportune or seasonable time, the right time, a limited period of time.
Jesus cried over Jerusalem as he entered because their lack of understanding of the season caused them to miss their ‘day of visitation’.
Luke 19:41 NKJ
41. Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,
42. saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
Sometimes it’s easy for us to get so caught up in our own little world that we’re focused only on ourselves.
All around us are hurting people who need our love and encouragement.
Don’t miss the miracle of the “right now moment” God sends your way, don‘t miss the opportunity to sow into someone else’s life.
It’s easy to walk away and say I wish I could help, but.
Listen to what they’re saying, more importantly listen to what God is telling you to do! Whatever God asked you to do, He is certainly able to provide you the means to pay for!
You will never try as you may, out give God! However you will never find out for yourself for sure, unless you give Him the opportunity to prove His extravagance is always greater than what He will ever ask of you!!
I heard a story about a young boy that lived in the inner city. He was about eight years old and was very poor.
One cold day, he was looking in the window of a local store admiring a pair of tennis shoes.
As he stood there, cold and barefooted, a lady came along and asked,
"Young man, what are you doing staring so intently in this window?"
Shyly he said, "Well, I was just sort of praying and asking God if He’d give me a new pair of tennis shoes."
Without hesitation, the lady took him into the store and very gently and lovingly washed off his cold dirty feet.
She put a brand new pair of socks on his feet. Then she told him to pick out three new pairs of tennis shoes.
The boy couldn’t believe it. He was so excited! He had never owned a new pair of shoes. He’d always just worn old hand–me–downs.
After she had paid for the purchase, the woman handed the shoes to the child
"Enjoy your shoes, son," she said.
The little boy looked at her in amazement. Nobody had ever taken that kind of interest in him. As serious as could be, with tears running down his cheeks, he said,
"Lady can I ask you a question? Are you God’s wife?"
We should do everything as unto God!
Matt. 25:34-40 NKJ
34. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35. for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36. I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37. “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38. When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39. Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40. And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Remember what the psalmist said;
*He throws caution to the winds,
giving to the needy in reckless abandon.
*His right-living, right-giving ways
never run out, never wear out.
This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you.
God’s extravagance Of Blessings, all come to us through His One and only Son Jesus willingness to freely give endlessly, to all who are willing to believe!
