Law of the Harvest – it can work for you or against you
THE LAW OF THE HARVEST
The Law of the Harvest is a very powerful Biblical truth. Galatian 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” This verse clearly sums up the principle of the law of the harvest – people will receive a harvest, good or bad, from whatever they plant. The law of the harvest can produce either a positive or negative result in your life. The harvest you reap is determined by the kind of seed you sow. Listen – this law can work for you, or it can work against you. Make sure to make it work for you, Here’s how.
There are 4 principles that govern this law.
- Principle of Producing
- Principle of Patience
- Principle of Propagation
- Principle of Proportion
1. PRINCIPLE OF PRODUCING
This is the foundational principle of this law. What you sow is what you reap…. enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm, action breeds action, apathy breeds apathy, anger breeds anger, and so on. The seed you sow produces what is in the seed. You can’t sow corn and expect to get wheat. You can’t sow discord and reap unity. You can’t sow hypocrisy and reap holiness. You cannot sow to the flesh and reap to the spirit. Whatever you sow, that is what you will reap. If you plant apple seeds, apple trees are what you get. If you plant thorns, thorns are what you will get. Whatever you sow, you reap.
2. PRINCIPLE OF PATIENCE
This principle means you reap later than you sow. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). The reason that many people don’t see the harvest in their life is they don’t have enough patience. They grow weary and give up on the seed. Too many of you are pulling up your radishes by the roots, trying to see if they have grown, and then try and put them back in the ground. We don’t give God enough time to bring the crop in. We live in a “NOW” society. We want everything now. So much is right at our fingertips, and we don’t have to wait for what we want. The Law of the Harvest doesn’t fit into the Microwave Mentality. The harvest does not happen in a hurry. There is no such thing as spontaneous generation.
The Chinese Bamboo Tree
In Asia, there is a tree called the Chinese Bamboo Tree. It is a very hard nut that is planted 2-3 inches below the ground. As is the case with any plant, the emergence of the Chinese Bamboo Tree requires rain (water), nutrients, carefully tended soil and sunlight. The farmers who grow these trees must water and fertilize them for five years BEFORE the nut will even break the dirt! These farmers rely on complete patience and belief that if they water and fertilize every day for the next five years, something is going to grow.
- In the first year… there are no visible signs of activity or development
- In the second year… no growth above the soil
- The third-year… no growth above the soil
- The fourth-year… no growth above the soil
- In the fifth year of this process of pouring all their hard work and patience into this nut, they finally begin to see some results. The tree begins by growing one inch above the dirt and within six weeks, the bamboo tree grows 80-90 feet tall!
Everyone wants an instant harvest, but the Law of the Harvest requires time. From planting a seed to the harvest is a process – it takes time. Let the law of patience work so you can reap the good and maximum harvest God has for you. You will reap in DUE SEASON – wait for the season
3. PRINCIPLE OF PROPAGATION
This principle means you reap more than you sow. It is the principle of increase and multiplication. If you sow a single corn seed and you let the principle of patience work in due season it will grow – first the blade, then the ear, and finally the full kernel in the ear. (Mark 4:28) In that one ear of corn are 800 kernels. One kernel becomes 800 – it is the principle of propagation. Jesus put it this way, “Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” (Matthew 13:8) Now, this principle works both to the good and the bad. Sow a little good and it multiplies back to you in much good. Sow a little evil and guess what – the harvest of bad in your life increases.
4. PRINCIPLE OF PROPORTION
This principle means if you sow a little you will reap little, but if you sow plentiful and you will reap abundantly. In other words, your harvest will be in proportion to what you sow. 2 Corinthians 9:6 puts it this way, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” The kingdom of God works differently than the world. The way up is down. To get give. The world says Proverbs 11:24 says, “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly but comes to poverty.”
WHAT KIND OF SEED ARE YOU SOWING?
Listen you are going to reap what you sow! It is a law. I other words if you sow “bad” seeds they will produce a bad harvest. If you sow good seeds, they will produce a good harvest. Galatian 6:8 explains it this way, “If (you) sow to please your own wrong (fleshly) desires, you will be planting seeds of evil and (you) will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death; but if (you) plant the good things of the Spirit, (you) will reap the everlasting (good) life that the Holy Spirit gives you.” What kind of seeds are you sowing?
SOW ONLY GOOD SEEDS
I want to encourage you to sow only good seeds. God wants you to have the best life possible and He has set out laws and promises in the Bible so that you can consistently live “His Best Life.” I am a big believer in the God of increase and abundance. Jesus came so you could have life and life more abundantly. (John 10:10) However, you need to be sowing good seeds because the law of the harvest is at work, and it can work against you.
PROMISE AND WARNING
The promise and warning of Scripture are – we reap what we sow. Life’s choices are filled with consequences both good and bad–temporal and eternal. David experienced the negative side of the law of the harvest. David reaped the same thing he planted. He found out that he reaped more than he realized he planted. He found out that he reaped later than he planted. And he found out that he reaped it all because he was the guy who put it into motion. He was the guy who sowed the bad seed and set in motion the harvest that he reaped.
GOD FORGIVES – BUT
Now, God did forgive David of his sin. BUT – God didn’t cancel out the law of the harvest? When God forgives, the law of the harvest goes right on. This is crucial for us to understand. We can be forgiven by God for eternity and still face the ramifications of our decisions in this life. Our sin does have natural consequences outside of our separation from God. There are many people who think they can sow their wild oats and then pray for crop failure. But that’s not the way it works. The law of the harvest goes right on.
Our lives are full of choices… these choices are the seeds we plant. Plant only good seeds and let the Law of the Harvest work to your good and benefit.