PRINCIPLES OF HARVEST

"He who sows wickedness reaps trouble...A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor" Proverbs 22:8-9.

God has placed into operation certain laws, or principles, which outwork themselves both in the natural and in the spiritual. One of these is that of HARVEST. Many times, the Bible likens these spiritual principles to the natural harvest - just as there is a natural reaping of grain and produce, so there is a material and spiritual result of our actions in this life, whether for good or for bad. There are six basic facts about a natural harvest that paint a picture of how these principles work:

THE HARVEST IS ACCORDING TO THE SOWING

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life" Galatians 6:7-8.

The first basic principle of harvest is that there is no harvest without a seed-sowing. If you don't put something in, you won't get anything out. This applies to every single area of our life. In the light of this, spiritual harvest requires a plan, a time-program and the proper seed.

THE HARVEST IS DETERMINED BY THE KIND OF SEED SOWN

"Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed ACCORDING TO THEIR KINDS and trees bearing fruit with seed in it ACCORDING TO THEIR KINDS. And God saw that it was good" Genesis 1:11-12.

In the account of creation, God emphasises that everything is to reproduce "according to their kind". The same principle applies in our lives. In the same way that a farmer cannot sow peas and reap potatoes, neither can we sow what is wrong and reap what is right, nor sow discord and reap unity; if we sow finance, we will reap finance; if we sow forgiveness, we will reap forgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15; Luke 6:36-37). "God cannot be mocked," Paul declares, for He does not turn a blind eye to what people do.

WE REAP IN A DIFFERENT SEASON THAN WHEN WE SOW

"Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days" Ecclesiastes 11:1 (NASB).

A farmer does not expect to receive a harvest immediately after he has planted the seed, but watches over the sown seed carefully, expecting to receive the harvest in a later season. Some people start to operate a new principle in their life and because they don't see immediate results, quickly give up.

"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 (see also verses 7-10).

THE HARVEST IS IN PROPORTION TO THE SOWING

"....with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" Matthew 7:2.

The attitude a farmer has to his sowing determines the abundance of the harvest to come. Not only is it true that if he doesn't sow, he doesn't reap, but if he sows sparingly, he reaps sparingly. If he wants a bountiful harvest, he must sow bountifully. If he only cultivates one acre, he can only reap what one acre can produce. However, if one hundred acres are sown in, the harvest will be one hundred times greater. All of us can increase our spiritual harvest by increasing our sowing.

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously" 2 Corinthians 9:6.

WE REAP IN MORE THAN WE HAVE SOWN

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" Luke 6:38 (see also Mark 4:24-25).

If this fact were not true, no farmer would ever sow, let alone expect a harvest. He assumes that sowing produces multiplication. The same principle also applies in the spiritual realms, and Jesus speaks of different measures of harvest - thirty-times, sixty-times and one hundred-times that which was sown (Matthew 13:3-8). Every good thing we do for the Lord is multiplied many times and returned to us. It is simply a principle that is in continuous operation.

'"I tell you the truth,' Jesus replied, 'no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields - and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life'" Mark 10:29-30 (see also Job 41:11; Romans 11:34-35).

OUR FUTURE HARVEST CAN BE DETERMINED NOW

The harvests of the past we can do nothing about, but this coming year's harvest we can. If we do not sow the best and first-fruits of our money, time and prayer-effort now, the coming harvest in our lives will be weak and sparse. We can determine the next season of harvest by the KIND of seed, the QUALITY of seed, and the QUANTITY of the seed which we sow. There are four types of harvest used as parables in the Bible which are affected by our actions NOW:

Harvest of spiritual things (Proverbs22:8-9;Galatians6:7-10).
Harvest of material
Harvest of souls (Matthew 9:36-38; John 4:35-38).
End-time harvest of good and evil seed (Matthew 13:24-30,36-43; Revelation 14:15; 1 Cor.3:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9).

To reap a harvest of finance and material goods, one must sow not only money but also a pure motive - a selfless love for others and for the Lord (1 Corinthians 13:3-5). God will then bring an increase that is not an end in itself, but an opportunity to give more.

"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. 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 (read also verses 6-15).

[NEXT] [PREVIOUS] [UP] [HOME] [WORLDSCOPE] [FEEDBACK] [POST OFFICE] [RANDOM] [SEARCH]

Copyright © 1981,1996 Paul, Bunty and David Collins. All rights reserved. This study may be freely used and reproduced, wholly or in part, by the Christian Church for the non-profit purposes of study and training only, provided copyright and contact information is included.

Unless otherwise stated, all scriptures quoted in these studies are from the New International Version of the Bible, © New York International Bible Society, used by permission. Other versions referred to are: KJV (King James Version), NKJB (New King James Bible), TLB (The Living Bible), Amp (The Amplified Bible) and The Message. All versions used by permission.

These studies are "graceware" - distributed freely and without obligation. If you would like to help financially in the continuation of this ministry, you can send your gift to:

Churchlink
P.O. Box 1033
Newcastle 2300
Australia.

For more information on Bible studies available, visit the Churchlink site on the World Wide Web at http://www.churchlink.com.au/churchlink. Enquiries to: [email protected]