Cultivating Good Ground

And these are they which are sown on good ground; 

such as hear the Word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, 

some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred. 

Mark 4:20

When we sow the way God instructs us, we will see the fruit of our labor. However, spiritual harvest, when not cultivated in accordance to God's word, leads to poor spiritual harvest. Sowing on anything but good ground results in a puny, weak harvest; one that is not able to withstand the cares of the world or the test of time.

If the ground is not properly prepared, the harvest will be poor. 

A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.  And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.  And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.  And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.  Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.  Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.  And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.  Luke 8:5-15

(Also read the Parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-23 and Mark 4:12-20)
                    . 
In these parables the Word of God is compared to seed in the natural world. The Word is sown in the hearts of men and women.

The thing that varies in these accounts is not the sower, the seed, or the method. The thing that affected the harvest was the condition of the soil. Some of the ground is not cultivated but is full of spiritual stones and weeds such as the cares of the world, riches, and lusts of other worldly things. The harvest from this uncultivated spiritual ground is poor to none.

But some of the seed is sown on good ground which represents cultivated spiritual ground (hearts) that are spiritually prepared to receive it. The result is abundant harvest:

And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the Word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.  Mark 4:20

The seed of the Word sown on fertile soil brings forth the greatest harvest.

Some people are receptive to the Gospel while others are resistant. If you are not experiencing a good harvest, uncultivated soil may be the problem. It must be properly prepared. The prophet Hosea commands:

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you. Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.   Hosea 10:12-13

Uncultivated ground in the spiritual world represents unrighteous ground. Hosea tells God's people they have reaped iniquity because they have plowed wickedness into the spiritual ground of their lives. The wickedness sown which results in a harvest of iniquity includes:

→ Discord:

A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.  He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.   Proverbs 6:12-14

→ Iniquity: 

He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.  Proverbs 22:8

Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.  Job 4:8

→ Strife:

A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.  Proverbs 16:28

→ Flesh: 

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.   Galatians 6:7-8

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.   Galatians 5:19-21

To assure proper spiritual harvest, we must break up the spiritual ground of our life and remove these hindrances. As Hosea recommended, we must "seek the Lord until He comes and rain righteousness" upon us.

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. Hosea 10:12

When there was a poor harvest in the natural world, the prophet Haggai told God's people to examine their ways:

Ye have sown much, and bring in little...

Consider your ways...

Ye looked for much and lo, it came to little.   Haggai 1:6, 7, 9

God's people had sown much seed but the harvest was little. Haggai told them they must rebuild both in the natural and spiritual worlds in order to have a good harvest.

Why was rebuilding necessary?  In the natural world, Israel had delayed building God's house and emphasized building their own homes. They had put their own concerns ahead of God's command.

In the spiritual world, the foundation of their lives was wrong. They had been sowing and reaping in the spirit world with unholy hands:  

Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.   Haggai 2:14

A right work or sacrifice offered by unholy hands is not acceptable. The foundation was wrong. God said to Israel:  

Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed; how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto Me?   Jeremiah 2:21

Because of this improper spiritual foundation God cursed the harvest:  

I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands.  Haggai 2:17

Haggai told God's people that the foundation of the Lord's temple must be relayed. He said if they would rebuild in both the natural and spiritual worlds God would bless them:  

Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider it.   Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.   Haggai 2:18-19

From the day that Israel began to rebuild the temple in the natural world and the foundation of righteousness in the spirit world God started to bless them. The result was abundant harvest in both worlds.

If you will rebuild the foundations of your life on righteousness, from this day forward, God will begin to bless you. You will reap abundantly in every area of life.

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.  3 John 1:2

Biblical Studies




10/14/13
02/05/15
07/19/16
09/11/19

03/15/21

Doing it God's Way!

Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and 

instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: 

and it shall be to the LORD for a name, 

for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Isaiah 55:13

What a wonderful promise given to us! But it does not come without the proper cultivation of God's words and obedience to His will in our life. We are at our best when we keep in mind what God told Zerubbabel:

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.   Zechariah 4:6

As vessels or instruments, we yield ourselves to God.  The work that He has for us to do is completed through and by Him.  It is not accomplished through: 

¨     Self-effort:

The vision God desires to give cannot be brought forth by self-effort. The only way it will come is by eliminating things which prevent spiritual harvest and applying God-given strategies for harvest.

You cannot bring forth spiritual harvest by self-effort. Observe the results of self-effort in the following verse:  

In the day shalt THOU make THY plant to grow, and in the morning shalt THOU make THY seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow. Isaiah 17:11

Hosea spoke of poor harvest resulting from self-effort. Israel had trusted in their own way and their mighty men.

Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.   Hosea 10:13

As long as you depend on your ways, methods, or your "mighty men" you will fail to see spiritual harvest. You must do God's work in God's way; otherwise it is a 

¨     Cursed reproductive processees:

One of the results of the fall of man into sin was that God cursed the reproductive process of the natural world. Women bring forth children in sorrow. The ground brings forth thorns and thistles and it takes much work to make it produce fruit. 

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.   Genesis 3:16-19 

These curses on the reproductive system were the result of sin.

In the spiritual world when you are living in sin there is a curse on the spiritual reproductive process of your life. It is only by salvation from sin through the blood of Jesus Christ that the curse will be lifted. You cannot claim the blessings of spiritual harvest as long as you are living under the curse of sin.

¨     Circumstances of life:

The circumstances of life can prevent spiritual harvest:  

The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.   Proverbs 20:4

He that observeth the wind shall not sow: and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. Ecclesiastes 11:4

In the natural world, if the farmer waited for perfect conditions he would never sow or reap. Regardless of the wind, the clouds, or the cold, the farmer works his field.

In the spiritual world if you wait for perfect circumstances to enter the harvest fields you will never go. The circumstances of life. . . your problems, your financial situation, your lack of education. . . must all be ignored as you place them in the care of God for Him to work out even as you continue to work for Him.

¨     Un-directed effort:

You can spend all your life busily doing good works and never do the work of God. This is un-directed spiritual effort:  

For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.  Hosea 8:7

There are many good works and worthy causes in life. People will misuse your talents and abilities for these causes if you permit them to do so.  But in order to bring forth a spiritual harvest good works are not enough. Jesus said:   

My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.    John 4:34

The key to spiritual harvest is not busily doing good works but it is doing the work of God. Your spiritual effort must be directed towards His divine purpose or it will be like seed sown in the wind which is carried away and gives no yield.

¨     Pests and disease:

In the natural world there are pests and diseases which attack plants and destroy the harvest. Pests are things which attack the plants from the outside such as bugs, grasshoppers, weeds. Disease attacks plants from the inside, destroying the root and growth systems.

Believers also face pests and disease in the spirit world. Satan attacks from without through circumstances and temptations of life and from within through the mind which affects the will and emotions.

Farmers find it necessary to prune their fruit vines. They cut off the growth that has come from within the vine which saps its life. They do this to make the vine more fruitful.

This is also necessary in the life of believers. There are things that come from within that prevent us from being fruitful 

There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.   Mark 7:15 

God prunes these things to increase our fruitfulness. John 15 tells of this process.

The real problem with spiritual pests and disease is actually not the circumstances or the thought processes in the mind. The problem is with the spiritual powers behind these:  

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Ephesians 6:12

In the natural world, plants are sometimes treated with chemicals to kill the pests and cure the diseases. In the spiritual world, the armor of God protects the spiritual harvest of your life:
   

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.   Ephesians 6:13-17

¨     Improper harvesting:

Improper harvesting ruins the crop:  

Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?  When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?  For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.  For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.  Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.  Isaiah 28:24-28

It is stated this way in the amplified version of the bible:

Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continue to plow and harrow his ground after it is smooth?  When he has leveled its surface, does he not cast broad the seed of dill or fennel, and scatter cummin [a seasoning], and put the wheat in rows, and barley in its intended place, and spelt [an inferior kind of wheat] as the border?  And he trains each of them correctly, for his God instructs him correctly and teaches him.  For the dill is not threshed with a sharp threshing instrument, nor is a cart wheel rolled over the cummin; but the dill is beat off with a staff and the cummin with a rod by hand.  Does one crush bread grain? No, he does not grind it continuously, but when he has driven his cart wheel and his horses over it, he scatters it-tossing it up to the wind-without having crushed it.   Isaiah 28:24-28, Amp

There are proper methods for preparing the ground and for planting the seed in the natural world.

When you are harvesting the lives of men and women for the Kingdom of God, some will come easily to the knowledge of the Lord. Others will take more effort to harvest.

Improper harvesting ruins the crop. Too much force bruises the tender plants. Too little effort fails to bring forth other crops. The same God who gives wisdom for reaping the natural harvest provides wisdom to harvest spiritual crops.

Biblical Studies

10/14/13
05/11/15
07/18/16
09/10/19

03/13/20

Trucebreaker Consequences

I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people,

and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. 

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.   

Psalms 85:8-10

God has many great promises for his people; those who have embraced Him; those that have come out of the world; those that have accepted His call and given Him a yes; those who are obedient to His word. This implies a contractual relationship with God; i.e., 

when we, God will, if we, God will . . .

The passage from Deuteronomy 28:1 shows one example of this spiritual contract with God:

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 

God promised abundant harvest IF His people would observe His commandments. BUT if they would not, then the harvest would perish.

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Deuteronomy 28:15 

There are many, many reasons for the promises of God not being evident in your life; revealing itself in poor harvest.  Among them:

®     Disobedience to God's Word.   

God speaks of Israel as a vineyard. Through disobedience to His Word, they became unfruitful. 

Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Isaiah 5:13

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20

When God's word is disobeyed, it results in spiritual famine:

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:  And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.   Amos 8:11-12

®     Forgetting God 

Aside from disobedience, another reason for poor harvest is not acknowledging His rightful place in your life:

Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants and shalt set it with strange slips: In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.   Isaiah 17:10-11

It is not enough to know about God, you must know God. You must accept His plan of salvation, and acknowledge Him as Lord of your life.

If you do not rightfully acknowledge God you can work night and day and yet not bring forth spiritual harvest. Israel was an example of a people who forgot God:

They soon forgat His works; they waited not for His counsel.

They forgat God their Saviour, which had done great things in Egypt.  Psalms 106:13,21

Because of this, Israel suffered both in the natural and in the spiritual harvests.

As many who forget God, Israel did not recognize the reason they were experiencing poor harvests: 

And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you. And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not your's.  Jeremiah 5:17-19

Amos clearly described the reason for poor harvest in his writing:

And also I have witholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to harvest; and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city...and the piece whereupon it rained not withered...

I have smitten you with blasting and mildew; when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them; yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.     Amos 4:7, 9

In addition to identifying the problem Amos gives the solution:

For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel Seek ye Me, and ye shall live.  Amos 5:4

®     Improper sowing

Not sowing on good ground; also results in a poor harvest:

God warned His people:

Thou shalt now sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.     Deuteronomy 22:9

Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:  In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.   Isaiah 17:10-11

In these verses God speaks of "mingled seed" and "strange" slips [small plants or seedlings]. He said they would appear to be growing but in the time of harvest would be cursed.

The New Testament calls the "seed" the Word of God. What you sow in your life affects spiritual harvest. If you sow His Word you will have abundant harvest.

If you consider the traditions of man, organization, or denominations more important than or equal to the Word of God, then you are mingling seed. Many denominations look like healthy spiritual plants. They may have large congregations and beautiful buildings in which to conduct their meetings. But they have mingled God's Word with their own traditions, ideologies or revelations. Their spiritual harvest is cursed. This is how cults begin. They "mingle" the seed of the Word with their own ideas. In the end the harvest is a sorrow.

The Word of God is the incorruptible seed which brings forth the harvest of the new birth in the lives of men and women:  

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.   1 Peter 1:23

There are many who are blatantly unconcerned with the times we are in.   They are far more concerned with prosperity, fame, power, etc. than with laboring in the spiritual harvest.  Proverbs speaks of a son who sleeps during harvest:  

He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.   Proverbs 10:5

The harvest is a very busy time. It is the most important time, for if the harvest is not gathered rapidly it will rot in the fields.

In the natural world in Bible times every member of a family assisted in the fields during harvest. A son who spent his time sleeping during this period was a shame to his family.

We are in the most crucial time of spiritual harvest as we near the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet many of the children of God are sleeping. They have not joined the Body of Christ in the harvest fields. Their sickles are rusty and the fields are empty.

Proverbs speaks of the results of such unconcern:   

I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;  And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.  Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.  Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:  So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man. Proverbs 24:30-34

®     Spiritual unfruitfulness

Unconcern results in spiritual unfruitfulness.

Jeremiah speaks of leaders destroying the harvest because of their unconcern:  

Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.    Jeremiah 12:10-11

Unconcerned leaders result in unconcerned followers. The vision of the harvest must be communicated by our spiritual leaders or the fields will lie desolate because "no man layeth it to heart.”

The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the Lord shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.    Jeremiah 12:12

The conclusion is the same as the beginning; God has many great promises for his people; 

©  those who have embraced Him; 

©  those that have come out of the world; 

©  those that have accepted His call and given Him a yes; 

©  those who are obedient to His word.  

This implies a contractual relationship with God; i.e., 

when we, God will, 

if we, God will . . .

Biblical Studies

10/14/13
05/02/15
07/15/16
09/09/19

03/12/21

* Covenant Agreement

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.

Galatians 6:7-8

Apostle Paul tells us to continue on in our good works, he tells us not to faint in our well doing, he tells us to have faith to believe and yet many of us faint in our adversity. We never consider the reason why our spiritual harvest is not coming to past. There are many reasons for poor spiritual harvest. It is just as important to know how NOT to do something as it is to know how to do it.

God has identified the reasons for poor harvest in His word. It is important you understand these so you do not waste spiritual effort.

There is an important principle in God's Word called the "If/But" principle. God has given many promises to His people and most of them are based on the "If/But" principle. Deuteronomy 28 is one example of this principle. God promises: 

And it shall come to pass, IF thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth.   Deuteronomy 28:1

Listed below are the blessings God's people will experience IF they will serve Him. Among those blessings are promises of abundant harvest in the natural world:

Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.  Deuteronomy 28:3-6

However, verse 15 warns:  

BUT it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all His commandments and his statues which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.  Deuteronomy 28:15

Among the curses for turning from the ways of the Lord is poor harvest in the natural world:

Cursed shalt thou be in the field...cursed shall be the fruit of thy land.

Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in...Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes, for the worms shall eat them.

Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit...

All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.  Deuteronomy 28:16,18,38-42

This chapter in Deuteronomy illustrates the "If/But" principle. God's promises are conditional upon our response.

The Bible reveals principles which will result in abundant harvest in the natural world. It also warns of ruined crops and poor harvest if these principles are not followed.

These principles apply to actual sowing and reaping in the natural world but they are also parallels of great spiritual truths.

Understanding these principles will result in a harvest in terms of reaching the world with the Gospel. But applying these principles in every area of life will also result in the blessing of God financially, materially, physically, and emotionally.

Satan has an interest in spiritual harvest. Jesus said to Peter:  

Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you like wheat.   Luke 22:31

Satan wants to sift all that is good from your life so that only waste remains. He does not want you to reap a spiritual harvest.

To help you identify the strategies Satan has designed to sift the harvest from your life, God warned of things which prevent spiritual harvest.

In order to apply strategies for effective harvest it is first necessary to eliminate things that prevent harvest in your life.

Negative factors  must be dealt with.  It is like preparing the ground for planting in the natural world. The ground must be broken up and the rocks and thistles removed before it is ready to receive the seed.  You must right the wrong in your life according to biblical principles and standards.  There is preparation that must occur so that we do not end up in one of the negative categories of the parable about the planting of the seed; which is the word of God: 

A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.  And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.  And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.  Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.  Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.  And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.  Luke 5:5-15

Biblical Studies

10/14/13
02/19/15
07/15/16
09/07/19

03/11/21