THE LAW OF SOWING AND REAPING
Sunday, February 24, 2002
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 2 Corinthians 9:6-9 NIV
There are many people that want to reap a harvest of blessing in their lives and yet they have not sown one seed for it! They have never learnt the principle of sowing and reaping. It is absolutely impossible to reap a harvest where there has never been a seed planted in the ground. It is physically impossible and spiritually impossible. God set certain unchanging laws into motion in the earth – one of them being the law of seedtime and harvest.
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Genesis 8:22 KJV
As long as the earth remains there will be a night and a day every day; there will be seasons every year – summer, winter, spring and fall; there will be cold and heat; and there will be a seedtime and a harvest time. The law of seedtime and harvest allows you to sow a seed and to reap a harvest much larger than the seed you sowed. However, you cannot expect a harvest when you have never sown a seed! The size and quality of the seed determine the size and quality of the harvest.
Many people get upset with the preacher when he teaches these things saying, “Well, he just wants my money!” But as Paul states in Philippians 4:15-19, “Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)
But it’s not about money, it’s about your heart and it’s about your seed. In 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Paul says that it is the size of your seed as well as the attitude of your heart that counts. The seed you sow might be a money seed, but it could also involve your time, your resources or your talents. Whatever you sow – sow it graciously and liberally, without regret and without holding back. It’s about a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. The principle is this - whatever you sow is exactly what you are going to reap.
Do not be deceived and deluded and misled: God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap. Galatians 6:7 AMP
The law of seedtime and harvest is both a natural law and a supernatural law. The law of seedtime and harvest means that everything produces after its own kind. Each species brings forth progeny that look and function just like the parents. They cannot bring forth something utterly different from themselves. Fish cannot produce baby birds. Lions cannot give birth to baby lizards. Some people have sown a bad seed, but they want to harvest a good crop. Whatever you have sown – that and that only is what you will you reap.
I pray that you grab a hold of this truth and let it burn in your heart. If you are not happy with what you are reaping then have a good, honest look at what you are sowing and begin to change your seed and your attitude from something you don’t want into something you do want so that God can bless and enlarge you in every way. God wants to bless you so that you have no excuse for not being generous!
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 NIV
Recent:
Righteous Now
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP
“Therefore if any man be in Christ…” What does it mean to be “in Christ”? Galatians 3:27 says, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” You are baptized into Christ when you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” And Romans 10:13 says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The moment
Defeating Strife
These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19 AMP
Faith Facts
Faith is persistent
Luke 11:9-10 AMP
So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.
John 16:24 AMP
Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.
Faith is single-minded
James 1:5-8 AMP
If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. 6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the