This study comes from my husband, Bob Rasmussen. He wrote it to share with our small group gathering.

“Seeding Your Harvest”

Recently, we received a Word from the Lord on a Sunday, and one of those was that there is a new season upon us.

I thought about that a lot, a new season. Living in Wisconsin I naturally thought about growing season. We see fields that require tilling, planting, fertilizing, growth and harvest – – I thought how does that apply to us?

I know the Bible speaks of the harvest and the main scripture that comes to mind for me is:

Matthew 9:36-38

36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

That scripture is familiar to me, but I started thinking what about the harvest in our own lives? I have always heard the “you reap what you sow” it seems like forever. To me that phrase is full of wisdom but can be negative or even scary.

If we look at the scripture in Galations 6:7-9

Galatians 6:7-9 King James Version (KJV)

7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 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. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Sometimes, I like to look at translations and commentaries for others for clarity of the Word, and in doing so I found this from J.B. Phillips

The inevitability of life’s harvest

7-10 Don’t be under any illusion: you cannot make a fool of God! A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows. If he sows for his own lower nature his harvest will be the decay and death of his own nature. But if he sows for the Spirit he will reap the harvest of everlasting life by that Spirit. Let us not grow tired of doing good, for, unless we throw in our hand, the ultimate harvest is assured. Let us then do good to all men as opportunity offers, especially to those who belong to the Christian household.

As we think upon these things, I believe that every season we are in has a harvest, because we are alive, there is no winter – – He makes us alive! Even in our last season, the harvest of our life is salvation and eternal life, so every season from when we are born until we go home has a harvest!

The bible is clear there are seasons:

Ecclesiastes 3 King James Version (KJV)

3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? 10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. 11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. 13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

“And enjoy the good of his labour” is what I want to focus on, specifically how it relates to Phillips “But if he sows for the Spirit he will reap the harvest of everlasting life by that Spirit.”

Circling back to the whole idea of a season being about growing, it comes down to the basics of growing. There is one requirement for any harvest of a crop – only one – seed. If there is no seed, there is no harvest. You can have sun, soil, rain, fertilizer but without seed – you have nothing.

In this new season that God has before us, I think we are tasked with planting the seed for the harvest of the season. But what does that even mean? How do we plant seeds in our lives to get a harvest? And where and how do you plant these seeds?

 

Before we go any further, what does it even mean to sow a seed?

According to dictionary.com

SOW

• verb (used with object), sowed, sown or sowed, sowing.
• to scatter (seed) over land, earth, etc., for growth; plant.
• to plant seed for: to sow a crop.
• to scatter seed over (land, earth, etc.) for the purpose of growth.
•  to implant, introduce, or promulgate; seek to propagate or extend; disseminate:
• to sow distrust or dissension.
• to strew or sprinkle with anything.

I think for us the best definition is “for the purpose of growth” – that is His plan. Jesus wants us to grow with Him, in Him, and through Him.

Jeremiah 29:11 New King James Version (NKJV)

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

However, I also think to “strew or sprinkle with anything” is something that should keep us vigilant. Like it or not, we are not the only ones that will plant seeds in our lives. We live in a fallen world, and whether it be the enemy, life in general, or more painfully, those in our own lives, they all can throw seed our way (or in our way).

Betrayal of a friendship, the death of a loved one, an untruth spoken against you, a marriage lost, health issues, or even a child lost – we did not plant these seeds. These are not good seeds – we did not put them there, but we cannot deny that they exist in ours field — which I mean is our heart. Perhaps there has been a time where we were just disappointed and that feeling we continue to carry throughout our season, and that hinders our harvest. Maybe, someone said something so hurtful or did something so painful to us that it continues to bubble up in our soul clouding our relationship with Jesus. What are we supposed to do with these seeds?

The answer that keeps coming back to me is plant more seed. Seeds of love, seeds of joy, seeds of forgiveness, seeds of God’s promises, seeds of hope. Being complacent we will not achieve victory – dwelling on that negative seed will bring harvest, but not a fruitful harvest. We need to seed our hearts with His Word, His Promises, and His Will. Ask, and He will guide us. Any seed planted by us will be greater than the seed thrown at us!

Going back to Galatians

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.

 

Application Lesson:

You will need a glass or pitcher of water, yellow and blue food coloring.

Sometimes for me, I need to see a practical example of scripture to help solidify a thought. So for a practical application I have water here representing our collective field (our heart) in our season. I would like you to add one drop of yellow food color for a seed that you have not planted – the painful or unwanted seed. You can speak it out or not. 

Now, speaking to the negative seed that you brought up, I would like you to add one drop of  blue food color for the seed of seed of LIFE you want to plant into your season.

As you can see, that water is now green – representing a full harvest, and that seems to be what God is talking us about. That for every bad seed, the righteous and good seed that we plant is what will be what we reap – His Word declares it, so it must be true. Stand strong knowing that He has great plans for us! Be consistent and persistent in sowing the seed throughout all your seasons and He will bless all that we do – He wants us all to have great harvest.

Final thought

“Seeds dominate the earth. Earth does not dominate seed. You can plant seed into the earth, you can bury it in a dirt grave, but it, the seed will resurrect. The seed has dominion over the earth. It, the seed, will overcome what tries to bury it. The seed will break out, what is sown, will come forth. No matter how much dirt or fertilizer is thrown on you, it’ll just help grow your seed.” – Bev Tucker, Life Church

-Special Acknowledgement to Kevin Kringel for inspiration