Reaping a Bountiful Harvest
by Pastor Jim May
We are well into the Fall season of the year right now. The harvest of fall crops is in full swing. I was talking to my friend who is a sugar cane planter a short time ago and learned that his crops were doing very well. Unless the weather was to turn quickly against him, this should be bountiful year, since his cane is producing above normal yield both in quality and quantity.
There are a lot of farmers out there who are having some bountiful crops this year, but there are many who are not. What is the difference? Why do some produce a lot while others seem to be wanting?
The differences may be the result of many things. Perhaps some had more rain, or less damaging wind than others. Perhaps some had more fertile ground than others. There could be differences in workers, the kind and quality of seed that was used, or maybe even in the machinery used to do the reaping.
I believe that most of the differences can be attributed to one major point. The differences can be the result of God’s laws of sowing and reaping.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8, "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 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:"
God’s Law of Sowing and Reaping is irrefutable and yet there are many today who attempt to ignore it and get by.
In the natural sense, if a farmer buys or uses inferior seed – he is going to reap an inferior crop, or no crop at all. If a farmer uses lazy workers who try to find every shortcut possible to avoid any hard labor in the hot sun, then his crops will likely be sparse at best. If a farmer uses worn out machinery, not only will the breakdowns and repairs cut into the profits he makes, but they may well ruin what little he is able to reap. If a farmer refuses to work with his fields and just lets them “make it on its own”, he may reap a crop of weeds rather than anything that can be sold for a profit.
My friend with the sugar cane told me that he has to trade in his combines every two years. That’s a piece of machinery that can run over $100,000. But it can cost him so much more than that if it breaks down for several days or weeks in the middle of harvest time. The loss is just not worth the risk!
The fact is that no matter what the crop is, that farmer must abide by the Laws of Sowing and Reaping if he expects to come out ahead in the end. He can’t take the easy way or the cheap way.
When God says that we will reap bountifully if we sow bountifully, He knows exactly what He is saying and He is saying what He means. We can either obey Him or lose.
If my friend were to suddenly decide that he hated sugar cane farming, I wonder how his harvest would go then. Certainly he gets tired of it, but he must love the business or he wouldn’t do as well with it. It is my experience that you can’t hate what you are doing and then do a very good job at it. Life is too short to be miserable all the time.
I know a lot of people who hate getting up in the morning, hate going to their job, and hate everything about it, but they keep going back day after day, living in total misery. I wonder how much good they are doing for themselves, or for their employer? How can a worker who is miserable be a very good worker?
That’s why Paul told the Corinthians that God loves a cheerful giver. Cheerful givers are people who love what they do. They may not always agree with decisions from the top. They may not always like to do everything that they are asked to do, but all things considered, they really like what they are doing to benefit themselves and mankind.
Now all of this is wonderful, right and good to talk about but what does it have to do with you and I, right here and now? What spiritual message is Paul trying to drill into the hearts of the Corinthian church?
In the church world I see many Christians who are trying to short-circuit God’s Laws of Sowing and Reaping.
How many times do I see people come to church hoping to reap a harvest of blessing only to walk out the door empty and dry in their spirit? Many of them never change, never try again, and they simply walk away for good.
Sometimes I look around the church during worship service and I see people in all levels of obedience to the Laws of Sowing and Reaping.
I’ve heard it said often, and I have said it often, “You will only get out of the service what you put into the service.” That’s one of the Laws of Sowing and Reaping. The scripture plainly says that you will reap what you sow. The question is what are you reaping right now in your spiritual life with the Lord? Perhaps a better question would be, what are you sowing into the Kingdom of God?
I see those who are in financial difficulties all the time and I know that a lot of their problems are the result of sowing and reaping laws. They never plant any seed with their finances. They may cast in a little here and there but it’s certainly not enough to plan on a bountiful harvest. It has always been my experience that those who will give the most without grudging will always be the ones who will reap the greatest blessings in their finances. Isn’t this what Paul was saying?
This message isn’t just about the giving of our finances. Our church and its people have always given graciously and the needs have always been met. Our harvest in this area has always been more than sufficient.
But what about the other areas where we need a harvest? We need a harvest in souls! We need a harvest in answered prayer and miracles, signs and wonders! We need to see some new crops arise that will bring spiritual prosperity to our church and our world.
We want to reap a harvest of souls being saved but where is the sowing of the seeds of prayer and fasting on the behalf of those who are lost?
We want to reap a harvest of a strong faith and closer walk with the Lord, but where is the sowing of the seed to bring these to past.
We want to reap a harvest of sanctification and holy living but where is the reaping of sacrificial giving?
Before every harvest there has to be a sacrifice; a sacrifice of love, hard work and determination.
If we are going to reap a harvest of love, we must sow love one for another. If we want to reap a harvest of lost souls, then we must sow our soul in travail and prayer for the lost. If we want to reap a mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost then we need to sow the seeds of prayer and seeking the face of God until the answer comes. If we are going to reap a harvest of answered prayer and miracles that happen before our eyes, then we must sow the seeds of prayer and faith first.
You can’t reap a harvest without first planting the crop and the seeds. We must develop the purpose in our heart that we want to the Holy Ghost poured out upon God’s people in a greater measure than ever before.
There is a teaching going around called “40 days of Purpose”. Now I don’t necessarily adhere to everything that is taught in these classes but I have to admire their willingness to plant a seed of study and training. They will reap a harvest for their work. That’s the Law of Sowing and Reaping. Even if you reap the wrong things you will still get a crop.
I can remember years ago when I had the time to plant gardens, that one year I planted what was supposed to be a certain variety of tomato that were supposed to grow larger than normal tomatoes, but when the crop started coming in, the tomatoes were the wrong kind. They were not much bigger than a golf ball. The Laws of Sowing and Reaping had caught up with me. I sowed the wrong seed and reaped the wrong crop.
Another time, I thought I was sowing seed for carrots, and harvested a crop of prettiest red carrots you ever saw. But they tasted like radishes instead. I’m not much of a farmer as you can tell, but it didn’t take me long to realize that I would reap what I sowed.
That’s exactly what will happen in the church if we sow the wrong seed of preaching, teaching and erroneous doctrine. We will reap a harvest but we may not want the harvest we reap.
If you want to reap a teenager that loves the Lord and lives for God, then sow seed of raising them in the church and be an example to them on how to live for God. I see too many parents who want to reap a God-fearing teenager, but they sow seeds of missing church, playing around with God, forsaking the study of the Word, and, in the end, they reap a teenager who is just like them. Then they wonder where they went wrong.
I see a lot of married couples who want to reap a good and healthy marriage, but they sow the seeds of selfishness, disregard for their spouse’s needs and desires, running around with single friends or perhaps friends who are already facing a divorce, and then they wonder why the crop that comes up is papers filed in a divorce court against them. You will reap what you sow.
I know so many people, both in the church and in the world, who want their kids to stay away from drugs and alcohol, but mom and dad are constantly sowing the seeds of a social drink, and maybe just one puff on a left-handed cigarette so that they can forget the cares of life for just a moment. They sow those seeds time and again and then they cry their hearts out when their harvest produces a drug addict, alcoholic or a law breaker instead of a model citizen.
I know Christians who want their kids to become ministers, teachers, preachers and faithful workers, but those kids never see mom or dad volunteering for anything in the House of God. What kind of a harvest are those parents going to reap?
God’s laws of Sowing and Reaping cannot be ignored if we want to reap God’s blessings in our lives.
We must never forget what the prophet Hosea said in Chapter 8 and verse 7, "For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind…”
What that means to me is that with each passing season of sowing and reaping, whether it is in the natural world or in the spiritual world, there is always a tendency for the seed to grow worse and the crop to grow even worse as a result of the bad seed.
What we sow now, in the form of sin and disobedience will be like sowing the wind. To us it is nothing more than a gentle breeze, but when the harvest comes, the crop that we will yield in sinful and disobedient children will seem like a tornado in our lives. And what will become of the next generation? The spiral downward into the depths of sin will never be broken until someone, somewhere begins to sow seeds of righteousness once again. Why not be the one who breaks the cycle? Why not be the one who begins to plant good seed so that the children you raise will have a better chance at serving the Lord and obtaining eternal life? The cycle just has to be broken sometime, by someone, so why not you and why not now?
God’s Laws of Sowing and Reaping will work for you, or they will work against you. Obedience to God’s law, and sowing seeds of righteousness will bring forth a harvest of blessing to yourself and to those of your household. Disobedience to those laws will bring forth a harvest that will be destructive and deadly.
Let’s look at few examples of what God’s Law of Sowing and Reaping did in the Bible.
In 2 Samuel Chapter 10 we read where David sowed his seed of Adultery. Then in chapter 11 we can see David reaping the harvest of grief at the death of his son that was born of his adultery with Bathsheba.
In the 5th Chapter of the Book of Acts we can see where Ananias and Sapphira sowed their seeds of lies and deceit in the giving of the price of the land to the work of the Lord, and in that same chapter we see where they reaped instant death and eternal punishment as their harvest.
We can read the story of Joseph, a young man that sowed seeds of faithfulness, and in the end reaped a bountiful harvest of power and blessing that he shared with even those who had hurt him and sold him into slavery.
We can read the story of Jonah who sowed disobedience to the call of God and reaped a harvest of 3 days in the belly of the fish. He learned that God’s Laws of Sowing and Reaping do not fail.
We can read the story of Paul the Apostle who sowed a lifetime of service to the Lord which included great persecution, suffering and imprisonment for the cause of Christ, but look at the bountiful harvest he had in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 when he says, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."
We could go on all night with example after example of those who reaped what they sowed but I think the point is made.
Let us begin right now to sow good seed. In a few days, a few weeks, or a few years, your seed that you are planting right now will begin to come up and your harvest will begin. There will be no hiding what seeds were planted today when your crop comes in tomorrow. All the world will know whether we meant business with God or not!
Plant your seeds of holiness, righteousness, sanctification, prayer, fasting, studying the Word of God, and then get ready for a bountiful harvest. The more seeds you plant, the greater your harvest will be.
