Good Seed – Bad Harvest?

Do all your harvests look like this?

Do you really reap what you sow? What about God? Does God always have a good harvest, from what He sows? Do not expect more than He gets.

Introduction

This topic is about sowing the right seed, which is the Word of God, and the fact that one can face a disappointing harvest. I do not know where the “reap what you sow” philosophy came from, but I suspect it has more to do with karma and reincarnation, than with the Bible.

Not everything we do that is good comes back to us in this life. Those who are told to only expect good things are being lied to. This is a fallen world, and idealistic dreams do not always come true in a brutally realistic, material, carnal world.

We must understand that we are not of this world, if we are spiritual, and the rewards that are permanent, and valuable, are not of this world either. However, to understand this, will prevent us from being disillusioned when things go wrong for us.

What has God’s harvest been like?

Think about it. God spoke His Word into this world and created man. Since that time, more of humanity has rebelled against God than has believed and obeyed Him. At one point, God regretted ever making man and sent the flood, so that He could start over.

When God worked miracles, and delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, did He reap gratitude and obedience? NO……they immediately started to complain, and then later, while he was on Mt. Sinai with Moses, they were down in the valley worshiping a golden calf. God almost gave up again.

It seemed that no matter how wonderful God was, in His creation, in His forgiveness, in his deliverance, in His miracles, the harvest was poor. Out of 600,000 Jews that left Egypt, only 2 made it into the Promised Land, because the rest were ungrateful, unbelieving, and rebellious. That is a horrible result, for such good “sowing” on God’s part.

Things did not get better for God, even after the next generation of Israelites made it into Israel. When God had proved Himself the perfect Judge, they wanted human judges. When God proved Himself a perfect King, they complained that they wanted to be like other pagans in the region, and have a human king, so God gave them Saul, who ended up being a loser.

As God blessed and “sowed into” the life of Israel, provided for her, forgave her, protected her throughout the period of the judges and kings, the most recorded response of the Israelites was that they “did evil in the sight of the Lord.” Baal and Marduk was more popular than God was. See the following references to see that this is true:

Jud 2:11, 3:7, 3:12, 4:1, 6:1, 10:6, 13:1

1 Kings 11:6, 14:22, 15:26, 15:34, 16:7, 16:19, 16:30, 22:52

2 Kings 8:18, 8:27, 13:2, 13:11, 14:24, 15:9, 15:18, 15:24, 15:28, 17:2, 21:2, 21:20, 23:32, 23:37, 24:9

2 Chronicles 22:4, 33:2, 33:22, 36:5, 36:9, 36:12

No wonder God sent in Israel’s enemies to punish her. Prophets sent to the people did not appreciate the help. Isaiah was sawed in half, and Jeremiah and other prophets were persecuted and/or killed.

In Jeremiah 10, God cries out

Jer 10:19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this [is] a grief, and I must bear it.

Jer 10:20 My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they [are] not: [there is] none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

Jer 10:21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

In Jeremiah 12:10, God says this about his harvest:

Jer 12:10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

Jer 12:11 They have made it desolate, [and being] desolate it mourns me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man lays [it] to heart.

The harvest of a prophet

Jeremiah, for example, says of his life:

Jer 20:18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?

He ends up in prison for telling the truth:

Jer 37:21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

Jesus and the harvest:

1.. the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-20, Matthew 13:1-23, and Luke 8:1-15):

“The farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed,

– some fell along the road, and it was trampled under foot,
and the birds of the sky devoured it. (no harvest)

– other seed fell on the rock, and as soon as it grew, it withered away,
because it had no moisture. (no harvest)

– Other fell amid the thorns, and the thorns grew with it, and choked it. (no harvest)

– Other fell into the good ground, and grew, and brought forth fruit one hundred times.” (a good harvest)

Obviously, even with a good farmer, ie. a good “sower,” with “good seed,” it is not 100% successful. The seed here is the Word of God, but not even that works all the time, because many people are not receptive.

2.. Jesus sowed the Word of God during his earthly ministry. This was his harvest:

– the leaders called him the devil.

– many only followed him because he worked miracles and fed them

– he was doubted

– all his disciples deserted Him when He needed them the most

– He was killed, crucified.

– finally, there was a small group who became faithful, and were devoted to Him, but it was only after He died, rose from the dead, and then re-appeared to them.

– so the good harvest only came after death.

What kind of harvest did the apostles have?

– great signs and wonders produced growth in the early church

– except for John, they were all crucified, killed, martyred

– John was imprisoned.

– the greatest growth occurred after they died.

What kind of harvest do you expect?

The reason I posted this is to bring people out of a fantasy world. They have been taught to follow church recipes, and to expect only positive results. When they do not get what is promised, they may either

– feel condemned for being sinful, and not worthy, or

– they feel angry at God for not getting anything, or

– they just get depressed, discouraged, and give up.

– Many disillusioned people leave church because of false promises that do not come true.

What should we expect? That we give from our hearts, our best always, and the type of harvest, and its timing, is up to God.

Do not give up!!

God did not give up, and we are here as a result !!.

Jesus did not give up, and we are saved from our sins as a result !!.

The apostles did not give up, and we have the gospel as a result !!.

We may, or may not, see our final harvest. Our real harvest is in heaven. Any temporal blessings are good, but that is not our real goal. Our real goal is heaven, for ourselves, and our loved ones.

Look beyond the physical, material world, and see – in the spirit that God gave you – your real rewards.

Be diligent.

Do not be discouraged.

Forget yourself.

Get lost in God, and let Him handle things.

Do not worry.

Be patient.

Be faithful.

Rejoice when you see nothing.

Rejoice when you receive something temporal.

Pray.

Believe.

Trust God, for everything is in His hands.