Sowing To The Spirit

[dave c]

simpletruth #138c Re-Written 21APR10

HOSEA 10:12—Part Three: Sowing To The Spirit

by rev. dave c

Hosea 10:12, Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you (NKJV).

I am in awe of people in full time ministry who came to the Lord early in their lives, answered Christ’s call, and who are living out that call day by day—year by year—without dramatic lapses into disobedience and rebellion. As I get older I am increasingly convinced that experiencing the worst the World has to offer really isn’t a necessary condition for effective ministry. I realize that people of constant, and consistent, integrity have their own spiritual issues to wrestle, but (by grace of God) memories of addictions, drunkenness, adultery, lost children, theft, abuse, blasphemy, murder, promiscuity, incarceration, deceptions, diseases, and divorce aren’t among them. For the rest of us, those memories are part of the fruit of our history…they are forgiven, but not forgotten. They are the thorns in the flesh of our conscience and confidence with which “the weak things of the world” live and work out God’s calling. Blessedly, “God chooses the weak things of the world…” (1Co 1:26-29).

Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. `I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…’ (Joel 2:23-25; NIV). Moses lived the life of a prince in Egypt during the first third of his life (40 years)...then he committed murder. During the second third of his life, he lived the humbled life of a shepherd and devoted husband (another 40 years). Finally, at the age of 80, Moses received his call from the great “I Am” Who spoke to him from the midst of a burning bush, and during his last 40 years ‘The Servant of God’ became one of the greatest Old Testament leaders (Ex, ch 3). While we may not live to be 120 years old as did Moses, we are never too old (or too young) to receive and answer the Lord’s call—no matter who, where, or what we might be at the time of His calling. If only we are willing to hear His voice in our hearts and obey Him with repentant heads and hands.

God is good. All the time. Hosea 10:12 is an answer to prayer regarding a season of questioning the nature, direction, and extent of His calling upon my life. His answer now is an expansion of the same answer given when I was grappling with the issue of public ministry during the late 1990’s. “Look to what you are sowing today...because that is what you will reap tomorrow.” The Holy Spirit is urging me to take this verse prayerfully to heart, to contemplate it word for word, and to apply it in my life privately and publicly. I also believe God intends the same for you, for our local fellowships, and for the Church at large.

The definitive verse for reaping what you sow is, of course, Galatians 6:7-10: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 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. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 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 (NAS). Regarding God’s faithfulness to honor our sowing to the Spirit, the Apostle Paul provides remarkable assurance in Second Corinthians 9:10&11: Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion… (NIV). We must remember, however, that these last verses are addressed to the fellowships, not to individual Christians—the fellowships will be made rich in every way….

Within this “law of the harvest” I need understand the principle of exponential multiplication. Each seed has within it the potential for hundreds more seeds. Ideally, the resulting crop of seeds will be sufficient to supply food for the one who sows (and by extension, for that family), it will also contribute food for the community, and it needs to provide the seed for the next season’s planting (Is 55:10, & 2Co 9:10). As outlined in the above verses from Galatians, this same principle may be applied to our acts of goodness. What you sow to the Spirit will not only “feed” you and your family (the household of the faith), but will also benefit our society (this hungry world)...and provide the foundation for future “plantings” of goodness.

The Bible discusses four factors that effect any given harvest. 1) What are we planting? 2) Where are we planting? 3) How much are we planting? 4) Why are we planting? Within these parameters, however, from Genesis Chapter One through Revelation Chapter Twenty-Two, the Bible makes it clear that God is the exclusive source for life and growth. As Paul emphatically states in First Corinthians 3:6&7, I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow (NIV). Let us remember the rich man from Luke 12:16-21 who built ever bigger barns to store his abundance: "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?“ (NIV). Jesus, please forgive and save us from our pride and arrogance when we begin to claim credit for the good things God provides. Amen.

[Jennifer Smith]

Thanks for sharing.