Sowing And Reaping! By James L Lantz
Father God could not be just in asking us to give our life to Him if He would not have first given life to us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing that we have, nothing that we can do, and nothing about us except that which was given to us from God. In the parable of the talents, the master corrected the wicked and lazy servant who accused him of reaping something from which he had not sown. Mt. 25:27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. The Word of the Lord through Paul asks, Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor? Who has first given to the Lord that the Lord must repay him? Rom. 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. 1 Cor. 4:7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? God is Love and the Master Sower who does it right! God committed Jesus as the lamb slain from the foundation of the world before entering into covenant with Abraham. Abraham willingly offered up his only son, Isaac, trusting God to raise him from the dead! John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God doesn’t break His own law, so He sowed His only begotten Son into this world to redeem us and to receive many sons and daughters! Heb. 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Sowing and reaping is the way everything works in the kingdom of God. This natural world follows the same pattern of sowing and reaping, planting and harvesting, and giving and receiving without showing partiality. Mark 4:26 ESV And he said, The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. Jesus was received into an earthen vessel when Mary said to Gabriel, be it unto me according to your word. Jesus died the death of one crucified and His body was
Be It Unto Me According To Your Word!
sown in the earth. God raised Him from the dead by His Mighty Resurrection Power and we who believe were raised up together with Him. Today we sow the Word of God into the earth through sharing, teaching, and preaching the good news. Jesus interpreted the parable of the sower by explaining that the seed sown is the Word of God and the earth refers to the hearts of men. When the psalmist decreed that God sent His word and healed them and delivered them from their afflictions he was referring to the living Word of God who became the sacrificial lamb and the living Word of God whom we proclaim.
Jesus gave us the secret to receiving eternal life, the gift of the Holy Spirit, healing, protection, provision, and wholeness! Mark 4:11&12 ESV . . . To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that, they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven. Jesus said the secret of the kingdom of God was given to those who have turned from their own way and were putting His things first. Disciples are learners and followers of the one they chose to replicate. 1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Noah heard God say, build an ark, and he built the ark. Peter and Andrew heard the Lord say, Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men. Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. The ten lepers heard Jesus say, go show yourself to the priest, and they went and were healed. Some are waiting for their healing to manifest and God is waiting for them to do what He showed them to do. James 2:24 CEV You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe. A great multitude of people came out of Judaea, Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon to hear Jesus and to be healed. Luke 6:19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there
Some Are Waiting On God To Be Healed But God Is Waiting On Them!
went virtue out of him, and healed them all. We should note that every one in this great multitude that came to hear the Master was healed. This means that every one who had lied, stole, murdered, coveted, or any other sin received their forgiveness and was healed. There was no one sin too big, not one disease too far advanced, nor any among them too old to be healed! The common denominator in this crowd was that they left what they were doing and came to hear and to be healed. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord is saved and becomes a candidate to be filled with the Holy Spirit! Everyone in the upper room on the day of Pentecost was filled with the Holy Spirit! They all were united in faith and obedience to receive the promise of the Father! Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Now that the Holy Spirit has been poured out, believers everywhere can receive Him immediately, without delay. To receive this gift of the baptism in the Holy Spirit we must be children of the Father, we must desire to be filled, and we must ask. Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
The whole kingdom of God is like a man who plants a seed into the ground, sleeps and rises, night and day, as the seed springs up and grows. He doesn’t know how it works, but the earth brings forth the fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. Then he puts in the sickle to receive the harvest. Giving is the greatest expression of love which our Heavenly Father so graciously modeled in creating the world for His beloved man. Then God gave His only begotten Son to redeem us from our sins and give us eternal life. God has graciously and lawfully sown His Son that He, through Him, might reap many sons and daughters into His family. God receives those who respond to the Holy Spirit’s leading and the ministry of His mighty angel’s. When we say yes to God’s call by confessing Jesus as Lord we are baptized into the body of Christ. The quicker we yield to God’s will for our life the better things will go for us! Jesus was apparently wooing Saul of Tarsus to come and join His team for some time but he wasn’t yielding. When Jesus finally put in the sickle for Saul on the road to Damascus, He admonished him, saying, it’s hard to kick against the pricks. When Saul realized Jesus meant business he quickly turned from being unwilling to being all in. Saul made a good choice and sowed his life in exchange for eternal life that day. Gal. 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. God does not deal with most people this dramatically but He most definitely reveals truth to us and expects us to respond positively. God often uses us to bring His truth to others and the Holy Spirit reveals!
It is through sowing or the giving of ourselves to God and to others and receiving the word into our heart and doing what it says by which we receive and increase. Dr. Luke gives this summary about the one who receives the blessing offered by the Word of God. Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. We will respond to God’s call to build His church according to our faith!
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
