Seedtime and
harvest
Gen.8:22(KJV)
"While the earth
remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat,
and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."
Luke 8:4-8(KJV)
"And when much people were
gathered together, and were come to him out
of every city, he spake by a parable:
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."
Luke 8:11-15(KJV)
"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."
The Lord Jesus Christ outlined the parable of the sower in the second
set of scriptures and his interpretation of it in the third set of
scriptures.
The seed is the word of God (Luke 8:11).
The word of God is the word of the kingdom (Matt.
13:19).
God himself is the King of
the kingdom.
God is the sower of the seed.
The seed is good, having the full potential
to become a harvest for the sower(Gen.8:22;Isa 55:11).
There are several challenges that a natural seed has to face and
overcome before it becomes a fruitful tree to be harvested.
The sower has the obligation to aid the seed to overcome those
challenges and become his harvest!
Examples of such challenges with respect to destiny have been discussed
briefly in 'An open door' and more
elaborately in 'The viral war'.
The word of God contains both his commands and his promises to mankind, and then classical examples of persons and
nations that either received his word or rejected it.
The greatest example for us in all generations is Jesus Christ:-
Luke 24:44(KJV)
"And he said unto them,
These are the words which I spake unto you,
while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were
written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms,
concerning me."
Jesus Christ co-operated with God so that his word for him and through
him could be fulfilled and become the Saviour of mankind according to divine destiny(Luke
2:11).
Divine destiny is the sum total of God's purposes for mankind in Christ
Jesus corporately and individually for all time and eternity.
The aspect of individuality with respect to divine destiny has been
highlighted in 'The bat,the cat,and
the rat'.
Divine destiny is revealed to us by God's indwelling Spirit through the
word of God:-
1 Cor.2:9-10(KJV)
"But as it is written, Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for
them that love him.
But God hath revealed them
unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
This is why the word of God is vital to the issue of divine destiny.
Each person and people is likened to one of the four types of hearers
of God's word analysed in Luke 8:11-15.
Each of us has the personal responsibility to freely choose to receive
the word of God!
The
starting point is when each person in response to the word of God
repents from sin,and receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Thereafter each person also has the duty of joyfully,patiently, and
firmly keeping the word of God in spite of the inner and outer
pressures of life(Luke 8:12-14)!!
Heb.6:12(KJV)
"That ye be not slothful,
but followers of them who through faith and
patience inherit the promises."
We have already examined
the importance of faith with respect to
destiny in 'Rhema
Island'.
Linked with faith is
patience(Luke 8:15) because the
process of
discovering,pursuing,and fulfilling divine destiny takes time and
effort!
As each one faithfully and
patiently follows Jesus Christ by God's
indwelling Spirit,divine destiny begins to unfold unto
fulfillment(harvest) in God.
Psalm 1:1-3(KJV)
"Blessed is the man that
walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the
law of the LORD; and in his law doth he
meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a
tree planted by the rivers of water, that
bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
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