HARVEST

‘…I have planted…but God gave the increase…’ 1 Corinthians 3:6

Let us explore the concept of a harvest, from the viewpoint of the farmer, and review its implications for us, as Christians.

What to Sow

Praise, Prayer, Worship & Thanksgiving Last month we discussed the implications of offering praise and thanks to God. Psalm 34:1 says, ‘I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth…’ and Psalm 100:4 says, ‘…enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful to him, and bless his name…’ Thanksgiving gladdens God’s heart and causes Him to operate on our behalf. We must appreciate the seemingly unimportant things, which we take for granted everyday. As we discussed previously, the act of praise has varying forms such as tithing, offering, assisting the needy and communicating with God. Being cheerful as we do these things causes the heavens to open up over us. Also, by praying effectively, we safeguard those things, which God has promised us.

Colossians 1:12 says, ‘…giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light…’
There is a song by Fred Hammond, which sums up the effect of prayer and praise thus, ‘…when we praise the God we serve will make His presence known…bless the Lord, O my soul….’
This song reveals an equation:

Prayer + Thanksgiving = Harvest

When to Sow

There is no prescribed time to sow, therefore we are at liberty to invest in our future whenever we choose. Having said that, we must always be prepared to make an unexpected sacrifice for our future. When a prophet of God gives us a word from God; when we are waiting for the manifestation of God’s promise; when we are at a crossroads; in good times and also in adverse times, we can sow towards our future. When we sow, we must prepare for the harvest, which we expect to receive. We must live and operate as though we are already in receipt of the promise, which we are waiting for.

How to Sow

Colossians 3:23-25 says, ‘…whatever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance for ye serve the Lord Christ…’

When God makes a promise to us, we may encounter obstacles. Therefore, we must give thanks to seal and secure our promise. He is faithful to perform that which He has ordained. When we sow, we must ensure that we invest our best – our seeding seed. This is because as Galatians 6:7 says, we reap what we sow and if we do not give up, we will be rewarded with a harvest.

We must sow in faith, with thanks and with an expectant heart. The Bible says in Psalm 56:11 that, ‘…in God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid…’ When we pray, we must believe that God, in His time, will keep His promise. If we do not trust the words, which we utter when we pray or the still small voice, which we hear, then our prayers will amount to nothing. The Bible tells us that the expectation of the righteous shall not be cut off. Therefore while we wait for the manifestation of God let’s trust in Him implicitly.

Matthew 6:25; 31-34 says, ‘…therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing…but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble…’

Why we Sow

The story of the servants, who were given talents by their master, in the New Testament demonstrates the importance of knowing how to sow and the reasons for doing so. It would be ungracious of us to neglect the gifts that God has already blessed us with, in favour of the things, which we either think we need or expect to receive from God.

Matthew 6:8 reminds us that, ‘…your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him…’ It would be short-sighted of us to view a harvest only as an earthly and ethereal notion. The Bible says in Matthew 6:19-20, ‘…lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal…’

When we sow, we focus our mind and efforts on the harvest, which God has promised us. We take our minds off our present circumstances and concentrate on our future, which surpasses anything that we could ever imagine.

The Harvest

In 1 Kings 18:41, Elisha announced, ‘there is a sound of abundance of rain…’ God caused a cloud the size of a man’s fist to rise above a seemingly barren and drought-plagued land. This action effected an awesome transformation.

The Bible declares in Leviticus 26:3-4 that, ‘if ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit….’ God requires our obedience, faith and commitment. God cannot work through us if we neither rely on Him nor trust Him.

The things, which we once deemed impossible; those things that seemed to escape us; the years, which the cankerworm and locust stole will all be restored to us. We must always remember to let go and allow God to take hold of the reigns. After having done our best, we need to stand our ground because God shows up when we actively wait. He is neither shy nor timid and He shows up on time, in style, as He promised and He is never empty-handed. The harvest of the Lord is never an ordinary event and it is delivered in such a way that there is no doubt that the Lord has visited us.

This month, we must declare and believe that the Lord of the Harvest will show Himself strong on our behalf and our expectations shall come to fruition. Our aspirations shall materialize as the glory of the Lord rises upon His children. Our promise on 27th July 07 was that every locked door, which hindered us, has been opened and our frustrations have ended. This month, with thanks in our hearts, let’s continue to show our gratitude to God, as we did last month, while we actively prepare for a bountiful harvest.