8/11
by Randy Heckley

SEED TIME AND HARVEST


Gods is a God of principles and after the flood He set some principles that would continue until the end of time. One of those is seedtime
and harvest.


Genesis 8: 21 & 22


The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I willnever again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heartis evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as Ihave done.


22 “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
And
cold and heat,
And summer and winter,
And day and night
Shall not
cease.”

It’s aprinciple that affects every area of our lives. It will work for you or againsyou depending on what kind of stuff you sow!!! You don’t have to understand how it works, just that it works.

Mark 4:26-29:

26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth;

27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he does not know how.

28 The earth bears fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

29 But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he puts forth the sickle, because the harvest is come.

We don’t have to understand how it works; we just need to understand that it works. It’s a principle that can’t be changed. The things we sow in life will at some time bring a harvest of those things in our life.

Galatians
6:7-10:

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

You can’t change it, what you have sown you WILL reap. My Pastor used to say “ youcan’t sow wild oats and then pray for crop failure” The good part is that ifyou have sown some bad stuff just start sowing good stuff and at some time thebad harvest will end and the new one will start.

You can’t grow weary in sowing good because you don’t plant one day and the next day have a harvest. It takes time especially with people!!! You just sow good things into people and at some time we reap good things from people.But
if we sow bad things into people at some time you are going to start reaping that kind of stuff from people

Luke 6:36-39:

36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

37 "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."


I have heard the last part of this verse used for financial giving more times than I can remember. But in context it wasn’t talking about financial giving it was talking about sowing mercy and forgiveness, not being judgmental. It deals with our relationships on every level, family, Church, Business, even our relationship with God.

Do you think you will need mercy and forgiveness from your spouse, children, boss, employees, neighbors …. The list goes on. Then it’s a good idea to sow some in all those people and even people you don’t know. If we don’t forgive God doesn’t forgive us!!!

Let’s go into the part about being judgmental and condemning. The measure you do it will be given back to you pressed down shaken together and over flowing. That’s scary if you think about it. I know it’s easier to think about it in the amount of money you gave but in context it wasn’t talking about that.

Soooooo lets be less judgmental slow to condemn and sow a bunch of mercy and forgiveness!!! Because you’ll need it ;-)

The word does talk about sowing financially but the same principle works here, you don’t plant one day and have a harvest the next and it doesn’t always come from where you planted it. But if you sow it you WILL have a harvest.. You plant one seed and you get a plant that produces fruit with seed in it. You replant that. If you eat your seed you get no harvest!!!

2 Corinthians 9:6-18:

6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifullywill also reap bountifully.

7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, forGod loves a cheerful giver.

8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiencyin all things at all times, you may abound in every good
work.
9 As it is written,"He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;his righteousness endures forever."

10 He who suppliesseed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

11You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplyingthe needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.

13 By their approval of this service, theywill glorify God because of yoursubmission flowing from yourconfession of the gospel of Christ, and
the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,

14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.

15Thanks be to God for hisinexpressible gift!

There are many scriptures that talk about it but this one is one of my favorites because it expresses the heart of God concerning giving and really explains how it all works and his reason for giving us a harvest of finances.


1. He loves a cheerful giver, because that’s His heart. He loves to give its his nature and when its developed in us it gives him pleasure.

2. God’s grace is able to make us have all sufficiency in all things at all times WOW…. WHY? So you can abound in every GOOD work
Not 3 houses and 5 cars… Good works!!! So you can distribute freely and help the poor.

3. He gives us the seed to sow!! What a deal but sometimes we have money spent before we get it, on all those I wants.. and our seed never gets planted. If you don’t sow it you don’t get a harvest. If you sow it when you get your harvest you need to put some aside to re-sow for your next harvest..

4. It makes your righteousness endure forever!!! And everybody’s needs get met.

If everyone practiced that there would be abundance for good works, helping the poor, more people living debt free and being blessed and the Gospel reaching more people.

The next is my favorite application of seed time and harvest, because it’s been my life for years. It’s sowing the Word of God.


Mark 4:14


The sower sows the word.


It’s something we have all been called to do and works on the same principle, yousow it and at some time it brings forth a harvest. It’s not in our ability tomake someone get saved. I have known people who tried to share the word andwhen people didn’t get saved or they didn’t see the results they thought theyhould get they got frustrated and gave up. We just sow the word and its up toGod to make it take root and grow. It doesn’t happen in a day.
If you try to push seed into hard ground you just ruin the seed. But if you let itit there at some time it will rain make the ground soft and it receives theseed. Then it takes root then comes the blade and so on until you get a harvest.


1 Corinthians 3:5-11:

5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whomyou believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.

6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.

7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters isanything, but God who causes the growth.

8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each willreceive his own reward according to his own labor.

9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’sbuilding.

10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid afoundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how hebuilds on it.

11 For no man can lay a foundationother than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

One plants and one waters but its God who causes the growth. See you never know if your planting or watering. So don’t get
frustrated and give up just keep sowing the seed of the Word of God into people’s lives and not just in word but in actions and you will see a harvest of souls. Some you planted and someone else harvested or some that someone else planted and you showed up when they were ready…..

It’s a principle that can’t be changed so becareful what you plant. But when you have opportunity plant grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Give financially into good works, when you get financially blessed don’t eat your seed pray and see why God gave it to you and plant some back.

Always look for opportunity to sow the word ofGod into people’s lives in your actions,and your love.



                      




6/2011
by Randy Heckley

                                            What do you Have?

Sometimes when we are trying to fulfill Gods plans for our lives or looking for a solution to a circumstance, situation or problem. We look for a miracle, some big event to happen or God to perform some big change in our lives in order for it to happen. But many times it is
just not time or God wants us to use what we already have in
faith.

Look at this, when Moses knew his calling from God was to deliver the Hebrews from Egypt, he first tries to do it himself and it didn’t work because he wasn’t ready and it wasn’t time yet.
So he gave up went and spent the next 40 years being a shepherd and learned about
leading a flock. When the time came for him to do it God appeared to him in a
burning bush and Moses wondered how he would do it.
the book of Exodus Chapter 4 look what is says.

Exodus
4:1&2

   1 But Moses protested again, “What
if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The
Lord never appeared to you’?”


2 Then the Lord asked
him, “What is that in your hand?”


   “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses
replied.

God used what Moses though was his
running from God’s plan to prepare him for it!! What was in his hand was a
shepherd’s staff. Most of the miracles Moses did were with that rod!!! God has
been preparing you without you knowing it and what you need is already in your
hand…

When the prophet Elijah prayed that it
wouldn’t rain for three years he had to go into hiding and God sent him to a
creek that he drank from and the birds brought him food to eat. But after a time
according to his prophecy the creek dried up and the birds quit coming. Then God
sent him to Zarepath and said I have a widow to take care of you there. In the
book of 1st Kings it says

1 Kings
17:1-15

  1 Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in
Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God
I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the
word!”

2 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 3 “Go
to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. 4
Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded
them to bring you food.”

5 So Elijah did as
the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. 6 The
ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from
the brook. 7 But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall
anywhere in the
land.



   8
Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near
the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”


10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at
the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her,
“Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” 11 As she was going to get
it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”


12 But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God
that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have
only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the
bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and
then my son and I will die.”

13 But Elijah
said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just
what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s
left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord,
the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your
containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”


15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and
Elijah and her son continued to eat for many days. 16 There was always enough
flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised
through Elijah.

When he got there the woman was
ready to make her last meal and die!!! That’s being prepared!!!! But basically
Elijah told her take what you have ITS ALL YOU NEED and give it
in faith. The woman had faith and that added to what was in her had was enough
to take care of her and Elijah!!!!

Let’s go to
the New Testament when Jesus fed the multitudes. It said he did it to test his
disciples. He knew what he was going to do but he told them YOU feed them. And
they ask him how can we do that and he said what do you have? One time 2 fish
and 5 loaves = 7 and there were 12 baskets left and the next time 2 fish and 7
loaves = 9 and there were 7 baskets left There’s another message in the numbers
here that I’ll address another time but the point I’m trying to make here is
they already had what they needed it was in their hand they just need to give it
in faith and let God do the work!!!!

In the
Gospel of Mathew 17 : 14-18

   15 That evening
the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already
getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food
for themselves.”

16 But Jesus said, “That
isn’t necessary—you feed them.”

17 “But we
have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered.


   18 “Bring them here,” he
said. 19 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five
loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking
the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it
to the people. 20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the
disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. 21 About 5,000 men were fed
that day, in addition to all the women and
children!

So let me encourage you no matter
what your circumstance, problem, or calling is God is in the process of giving
you what you need and it’s not time yet or it is already in your hand and you
just need to give it and apply it in faith and let God do the
rest.