Reaping a Harvest part 2

The Harvest Requires Seed Planting

Last week we looked at the need to prepare the ground in order to reap a harvest. Again, those four principles of reaping a harvest are:

To reap a harvest, the ground must be prepared.

To reap a harvest, seeds must be planted.

To reap a harvest, workers must do their jobs.

To reap a harvest, the harvest must be reaped.

Once we prepare the ground, it’s time to sow seed. But what kind of seed should we sow? Well, the wise answer is, “What kind of food do you want?” What kind of seed we sow determines what kind of crop we reap, or this simple version:

We reap what we sow.

If we want kindness, goodness, or financial growth, freedom, or whatever, we must sow seeds that will grow into those things. If we sow seeds of hate, then that’s what we’ll get. But if we sow love, we will receive love. The principle works no matter what you are sowing. So, again, the question remains, what will you sow?

What kind of seeds?

Last week I ended with Hosea 10:12, and I’d like to read it again, because the meaning is clear. If we want the Lord to grow and bless us, we must seek Him and sow seeds of righteousness and love.

Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

Hosea 10:12

For the church to grow, we must sow seeds of faith, hope, and love.

The alternative will be more trouble. Consider the wisdom of Job and Proverbs:

As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.

Job 4:8

Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail.

Proverbs 22:8

We have to decide what seeds we will sow, and get to it! The ground is prepared by repenting from those things that will choke our growth. The next step is to begin planting the word in our hearts, and in our neighbor’s hearts, so it can grow.

Turn with me to Galatians 6, and let’s look at how Paul describes this principle.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.

Galatians 6:1-5

This first section is a reminder to those who have been in the field for awhile. We are not starting from scratch. The Church has existed for about 2,000 years now, and our local congregation for a little over 120 years. It is unnecessary to reinvent the wheel. God has already been working. We are called to join Him, not start fresh without Him. 

So, it stands to reason God’s people have been hard at work already. There are already Christians who have been working in the field—sharing God’s love, giving generously, teaching and discipling younger ones, and generally being faithful to God’s Kingdom. 

But there are also Christians who have fallen victim to the problems we described last week. Some have listened to Satan’s lies. Some were unable to endure the persecutions and tribulations that come to Christians. Some were lured away by the world’s enticements. As Paul says, they are caught in a transgression. 

Whenever a church decides to renew their faithfulness to Christ and pursue the mission God gives them, inevitably there will be those who lag behind. It’s part of human nature. To those who are zealous to follow God, Paul says, “Be careful!” In our zeal, we can’t become prideful or destructive. 

In times of revival, the church has to sow seeds of love by restoring fallen members gently.

It’s a difficult command, because it is human nature to lash out at those who keep us from fulfilling our desires. But it is necessary, because Christ said we would be known by our love. Part of loving one another is bearing with one another’s burdens. The weaker members can become our strongest members, because of their experience with the troubles of life. But that can’t happen if we cut them off. If someone decides to leave, let it be their choice and not because we drove them out.

We will know what kind of seed we’re sowing by how we treat other Christians.

The other side of that principle has to do with our propensity for pride. Notice Paul adds, “if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Sometimes the pursuit of holiness can become ‘holier than thou.’ If God has blessed you, that’s wonderful, but don’t let those blessings become a reason to curse others.

We sow seeds of faith by measuring our spiritual lives in comparison to Christ, not to others.

The greatest danger for Christians is to believe they are perfectly fine, because they “aren’t like those other people.”

Consider the story Jesus tells in Luke 18:9-14

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 18:9-14

Pride comes in a myriad of forms, but perhaps the worst is the pride that comes from believing we are holier than we truly are. The holiest people I’ve met never believed they were something worth emulating. They always pointed me to Christ.

So, whether our members have backslidden into the world or sit in the pews judging the rest of the congregation, it is the duty of the faithful to restore them with gentleness, sowing seeds of love and faith.

And, as we saw in Luke 18:14, God will restore the repentant. We fix our eyes on Christ, restore others gently, and set our hope in Christ and His work.

We sow seeds of hope by fixing our eyes on Christ and His work.

The next set of verses in Galatians tells us how to sow those seeds. 

How shall we sow? 

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Galatians 6:6-10

First, if you have been taught a truth of God, and you have experienced that truth in action, then share that with the one who taught you. Paul gives that first, because that is an encouragement to the faithful Christian. And faithful Christians need encouragement. 

Verses 7 & 8 summarize what we have already established. What we sow is what we’ll reap. If we sow seeds of flesh (sin), we will reap corruption. But the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life. In the previous chapter, Paul already described what the fruit of the Spirit looks like. In 5:22-23, he lists it as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

If we want to see the fruit of the Spirit in our hearts and church, then we must sow seeds of the Spirit.

Last, Paul says to not grow weary of doing good, because in time, we will reap a harvest. There is coming a season of harvest, and we must not give up before the time comes! And so, as we have opportunity to do good, do it!

Now, the last point today has to do with harvesting an abundance. We’ve already touched on it a bit, but look with me at Luke 6:38 and 2 Corinthians 9:6:

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Luke 6:38

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

2 Corinthians 9:6

What is the principle at work here? “You reap what you sow” isn’t just about what you sow, but also how much you sow. If we want to see a huge harvest, we have to sow a lot of seed!

If we do nothing, we’ll get nothing.

If we do a little, we’ll get a little.

If we do a lot, we’ll get a lot.

The amount of harvest is directly related to the amount of seeds sown--to see more growth in the church, there must be more investment in the ministry of the church.

Of course, these things take time. It takes quite awhile to harvest 100 acres. Some of you with much larger farms spend a long time planting, cultivating, and harvesting! But as Jesus says, “To the one who is given much, much is expected from him.” (Luke 12:48) But if we are faithful to the task, God promises a harvest will come in time. The psalmist declares:

Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!

Psalm 126:5

The work may be hard, and the planting season may seem long, but in the end, God promises us a joyful harvest! If we want to experience that harvest, we have to begin with the groundwork, and then start planting!