flourishinggirl

DECEMBER 2012 OUR MONTH OF HARVEST

As November; Our month of Refreshing wound to a close, I began to rummage through my spirit in search of what to say to God’s people for the month of December. The Lord already told me that December shall be our month of Harvest. He also gave me some texts of scripture to meditate on in connection with harvest and as I looked through the texts in Gen.8:22, Gal.6:7-9 and Matthew 12:33-37, I could not help thinking of the many people around the world who often experience disappointments in life as a result of the operation of this law of seed time and harvest. To appreciate what I am about to talk about, let us see the text of scriptures:

“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Gen.8:22

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

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.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:7-9.

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12:33-37

Recently, while listening to John Maxwell review his latest book “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, I heard him make a very profound statement about laws that I do not think I have ever consciously averted my mind to even though I know it is there and have always tried to live by it. He said the interesting thing about a law is that it cuts across every sphere of existence whether we are aware of them or not. In other words, laws work for or against you whether you are aware of them or not depending on whether you obey them or not.

In school, we were taught that ignorance of the law is no excuse. I believe our teachers learnt it from God in Hosea 4:6 where He said through the prophet that His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Therefore, contrary to the belief in the world that what you don’t know cannot hurt you, what you don’t know may just be your undoing because the truth is that ignorance is not a virtue but a vice.

Consequent on the foregoing, your ignorance of the law of seed time and harvest may be the reason why another year has ended again for you in disappointment. I am sorry if this statement hurt you, but sometimes for you to be healed and make progress in life, you will have to get out of a comfort zone or two; to experience a little pain or inconvenience through exposure and application of the balm of truth. But believe me; this is in your best interest.

If you look deeply at all there texts of scripture quoted above, you would glean the following realities about life among others:

1.     Harvest is preceded by a planting season known as seed time.

2.     Following from one above, you cannot get out of life what you have not put into it. This explains why in our third text of scripture, the Lord said we should either make a tree good and it’s fruit good or make it corrupt and its fruit will be corrupt. In other words, the quality of seed sown will determine the quality of harvest reaped. This was reiterated by Apostle Paul in our second text where he said anyone who sows to the flesh shall reap corruption and anyone who sows to the spirit shall reap life everlasting.

3.     The harvest is usually more than the seeds sown so what you do not want to see in abundance in your life, ensure you do not sow to it. This would help to guard our tongues as we must have what we say [Mk.11:23]. So say what you want to see in your future always.

4.     In our fast paced mammon ruled world, many people have forgotten this precious virtue of sowing precious seeds of the right words and character which gender towards godliness and protect against corruption as well as provide the much sought after wealth. In a bid to get ahead, they have neglected the substance which is the cultivation of the right seeds in the right environment to produce the finished products. Instead, they are putting the cart before the horse seeking the fruit which represents the harvest at the expense of investing time to sow the seeds that guarantee the harvest they desire. The result is that they end up sowing to the flesh and reaping corruption in the process. As I look around me today, I see many chasing after money and fame while neglecting godly values in the process and the result in all the cases is disappointment. Some are disappointed in that they never get either of these things while others are disappointed in that they get them with leanness to their souls. By this I mean they get the mundane and lose the substance like love, joy peace in the Holy Ghost. Then they begin to envy those who were smart enough to recognize that godliness with contentment is great gain. As a result, such people walk in the blessing and end up with the fruit which is the harvest and they are the ones who determine the way things really play out in life; even though they do not have to run around and compromise their godly standards like others. To these kinds of people, little becomes much and small becomes great and wisdom is common place because their affections are set on things above and not on things of this world. Whereas, to the other kind of people, much become little or zero in their hands because by their life styles, they have subjected themselves to the forces of the waster.

5.     The kinds of seeds sown are not money only; you can sow your life (which is what God treasures most), your time, your efforts, your skill etc to enlarge the Kingdom of God and God will see to it that you get back a hundred percent what you give. When you sow your life for instance, you reap a harvest of long life, peace, safety, health, wisdom, joy and in many cases fame and money. God is not a man that He should lie! When I look through history and the present day, the trend has always been the same. Those who sow their destinies to please God never end their journeys small or in shame! You may want to do a little exercise and read through the bible from Genesis to Revelation as well as any history book you can find. Then take an objective look at the most outstanding men and women of God in our generation, you will find this assertion to be the truth.   

Let me close this little message by saying that the law of seed time and harvest has separated the people of this world into two categories. They are the seed minded people and the fruit minded people.

The former are the cultivators who immediately recognize good seeds and find the best ways to plant and nurture them to produce a rich harvest of good things eventually. To these people, little becomes much in their hands and small become great. They do not go around pressuring others for what others can do for them; rather they go around looking for how to add value to others. In the process, God blesses them because the law of seed time and harvest must be enforced and the only person who can enforce this law is God. This is why Apostle Paul affirms that he planted and Apollos watered, but God gave the increase [harvest].

On the other hand, the latter or fruit minded people are always looking for short cuts to get what they want without paying attention to the rule of seed time and harvest. They want the fruits of others and they are not interested in cultivating their own. They are never there for anyone else but for themselves. They would only maintain a relationship from which they benefit regardless of the feelings of the other party to the relationship for instance and wonder why they always experience broken relationships. In life, you cannot eat your cake and have it. You cannot expect what you have not put into life. The fact that you give money in Church for instance, does not guarantee that you will be rich because becoming rich involves a lot more than giving your tithes and offering. From my experience as a minister of the gospel, I have found out that obedience to God is the foundation for playing in this field with excellence. This explains why not every minister of the gospel commands equal attention.

In a bid to reducing the number of people in the latter category, God has sent this word at this crucial time of the year to enable us prepare for His visitation next year. So this month, we shall be looking at the law of seed time and harvest and how best we can engage this law to our advantage to the glory of God.

As I draw the curtain, I want to quickly say here that God has sown the greatest seed anyone could sow and you reading this message could become one of the harvest of this seed if you are not yet one by receiving His precious Son Jesus Christ into your life. If you do so, you receive the right to become a child of God and enjoy the entire benefits and privileges attendant therewith. If you want to reciprocate God’s affection in giving up His all for you, please say the following prayer out loud to God in faith and the Holy Spirit will take you up from there and give you the most pleasant journey through destiny.

            Heavenly father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. I repent of my sin and receive the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross for my salvation. I believe He died for me and on the third day, you raised Him from the dead for my salvation. From today, I receive Him as the Saviour and Lord of my Life.

Thank you father for forgiving me and writing my name in the book of life with the blood of Jesus. I pledge allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ from this day forever in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen!!!

If you just said this prayer, congratulations! You are now born again.  Please let me know by emailing flourishinggirl@gmail.com and I will send you an e copy of our “Believers’ Guide to Growth” to enable you take off on this glorious adventure of the new creation. You can also log on to my blog on www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com or follow me on face book at www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl   for more resource materials to enrich your Christian life. God bless you!!!