The Law of Sowing and Reaping
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; 1 Corinthians 9:6-12;
In this lesson want to help you to move beyond level one of stwardship of Tithing, to step two of stewardship and that the understand the principle of sowing a seed and reaping and receive a harvest. In order to understand the principle of seedtime and harvest, you need to know the purpose of the seed, the process of the seed, the power of the seed, and the sowing and planting of the seed. Even if you don’t have a seed, God will provide you with a seed. The seed must be planted where God wants it planted. The seed will be blessed and produce a harvest that is good and plentiful.
Within the Word of God, there is a principle of seedtime and harvest (Genesis 8:22) everything began with a seed. You and I as human beings all started out as a seed (Genesis 1:9-12). So regardless of who you are, God can take whatever you have as a seed. I remember hearing the story of a particular young man in a particular service.
When the offering was taken during the service and the plate was passed to him, the only thing that he had to give was a pencil. God honoured his act of faith and today he is a well-known minister of the gospel and has a TV broadcast that is seen around the world.
Let’s look at an example from the Old Testament. (2 Kings 4: 1-7). Elisha asks her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" God is always more interested in what we have than what we don't have. The widow was telling Elisha what she didn't have, but he wanted to know what she did have. What she didn't have could not help her or anybody else. But what she did have was the seed for her miracle.
The oil she had was small in amount, and she was asked to place it into large vessels. She could have been excused for thinking that the little she had was insignificant. But sown in obedience to the prophet it was multiplied and became a blessing to her and to others. Even in a time of need, taking a financial seed and sowing it in good soil is our way of the provision of God.
The Kingdom of Heaven is built on generosity and giving because the answer to the need is always in the seed. Never think your seed is too small to sow into a large ministry. Trees grow from mustard seeds and great oaks were once an acorn! Keep sowing!
If you don’t have a seed, God has promised to give you a seed (2 Corinthians 9:10). Most Christians never take the time to study this principle. As I examine the above verse of scripture, I see it as a win-win situation for me. Why? Because God has promised to give me the seed and all that He asks of me is that I plant it in the ground as He instructs. He will multiply the seed that He told me to sow, and that’s not all!
He will cause that seed to produce a harvest large enough for me to have something to eat (minister bread for my food), and enough that I can plan again (increase the fruits of my righteousness). I don’t know about you but I think that’s a pretty good deal all I have to do is obey Him.
We need to understand the principle of seedtime and harvest. “…we must recognize 1) the purpose of the seed, 2) the process of the seed, 3) the power of the seed and finally, 4) the sowing and planting of the seed.”
In sharing with you God’s plan for financing the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, this principle is very significant in the economic system of God. There must be a seedtime if you are going to have a harvest. Most people want a harvest time without a seed time. (Acts 20:35)
The world has a saying: “get all you can, and sit on all you get.” In the economics system of Heaven, it is just the opposite (Luke 6:38).
The Purpose of the Seed - The seed is to produce a harvest so that you can fulfil God’s assignment, but most of us are in such a financial mess that we need help first. When we give, our giving will produce receiving; our receiving will increase to the next level.
Let me explain what I mean. For example, when being led by the Holy Spirit you give $100; that $100 is not leaving you. Using the principle of seedtime and harvest time it just became your employee. It will begin to work for you as a servant to make money for you and bring it back to you.
- Your Seed is Powerful - God is revealing to us divine principle because He wants us blessed. Sometimes if we are not careful we underestimate the potential of a seed. An example of this can be found in Genesis 26:1-5.
- The Power of the Seed - Never underestimate the potential of a seed. In Genesis 26:12; Isaac received a hundredfold return. According to the Word of God, we never know what a seed can produce, but one thing I do know is that you cannot beat God by your giving (Luke 6:38).
- There is no limit on what God can do. This is a spiritual law and it will produce supernatural results. Spiritual laws cause us to tap into another realm, another dimension (2 Corinthians 9:10; Ecclesiastes 11:1-3).
- The Process of The Seed - The word “sow” means to plant a seed for growth by scattering or to scatter (as seed) upon the earth for growth.
First - Remember is to always give God your best seed. In order to do that; you must listen to the Holy Spirit and obey Him. Sometimes the best seed may put a strain on you, but that is okay.
Secondly - The sower’s heart must be in the sowing. For example, when offering time comes around, do not just pluck a few bills in the bucket with the rest of the congregation because it is the right thing to do. No!
The sower must know what he or she is doing. Sowers have expectations of a harvest. Every time you plant, you make a demand on that seed. Therefore, you make a demand on the harvest. Do not turn it loose, and do not let the devil send you a seed and call it a harvest. When it is a harvest, you will not be able to carry the harvest in the same container in which you carried the seed.
Thirdly - Understand the soil. As you are sowing to God the best seed, check out the soil. The seed and the soil never limit God. It is always the devil or the sower who limits God.
Whenever and whatever you sow a seed into making sure you plant your seed in good soil. Do your research. Most ministries or churches have websites, and most Evangelistic type ministries have websites, and there should be data concerning the amount of money that come in each year and how it is being used.
Also, there is a website that has various ministries and these sites have investigated different ministries to see if they are doing as they say.
Finally - (Ecclesiastes 11:4) will help you understand this principle. What is the meaning of ‘he that observeth the wind’? “It means if you are waiting for everything to get right before you start sowing – the economy, the stock market, your job, your boss giving you a raise – you will not sow. You must sow by faith, even though it looks like your company is about to shut down. If God told you to sow that seed, sow it because He is trying to get you out of the financial mess you are in.”
The objective is that as you go through the process of sowing a seed and reaping a harvest:
- You break free of the world system which is most important.
- You should become a tither on a regular basis.
- You should be in a position where you will have more than enough to meet your needs and also be able to help finance the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Again Tithing isn't really giving—it's returning. It is bringing back to the Lord what is already His. Thus, the principle of Seedtime Harvest, the Law of Sowing and Reaping can only work when we give over and above our tithes is an offering or SEEDS and only that which we give beyond the Tithes can be multiplied.
This was God’s intent from the very beginning. But we; His children, do not realize how caught up we are in the world’s system. Thank God that He has provided a way for us to break free. Just keep on Sowing and Reaping
Sowing and Reaping are the principles by which you break free of the world system. The average job is designed to pay you enough to come back on Monday. The mistake that most Christians make is that they are trying to live off their paycheck, but your job is designed as just one place where you can get some seeds. After paying your tithes, and offering, start practicing the principle of Sowing and Reaping and know that God can bless you with a harvest that can be more than your paycheck.
The objective of this book is to share the various laws within the kingdom of God and how they operate. We must make the adjustment to come in alignment with the various laws and enjoy the blessings of the kingdom of God through Yoking up with Jesus and Kingdom of God government.
In order to flow in the Blessing of God and have manifestations of Supernatural Provision, we must be in alignment with the principle of Sowing and Reaping.
Summary
Trust and believe in God with all your heart. God is rich in houses and land and he wants to bless us with riches. Do not allow the devil to place fear into your spirit and make you afraid to sow a seed. Stop living from paycheck to paycheck, which is the system of the world, and start practicing the principles of sowing and reaping. Trust that God can and will bless you with a bountiful harvest.
For additional information
please see my book
(05) How to obtain Financial Freedom
