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| The Harvest, Vincent van Gogh, 1888 |
The Law of Harvest & the Law of Distribution
Author: Stephen Kuntzman
Gal. 6:7-10
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.
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
The Law of Harvest:
Gal. 6:7, “…Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Consider your seed:
What are you sowing, or planting in your life?
What habits are you developing?
What behavior do you manifest outwardly to others on a day-to-day basis?
What are the secret thoughts that you consider in the privacy of your mind?
What types of music, television programming, movies, and Internet sites do you allow to enter your spirit being through your sense gates?
What kind of conversations do you entertain?
Whatever answers you may have to these questions, one thing is certain; you will reap what you’ve sown:
Sow love and you’ll receive love
Sow hate and you’ll receive the same
Sow kindness and you will receive it in turn
Sow cynicism and others will mistrust you as well
The Apostle is clear on this one issue:
You get what you sow.
You can’t plant an orange tree and expect apples.
You can’t alter the inevitable law of harvest - - like begets like.
Romans 6
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The inevitable law of harvest declares that you will end up in one of two places.
You Choose: Heaven or Hell
The
choice of Hell, which designates you as a servant of sin, will reveal certain undeniable indicators in your life (i.e. the works of the flesh: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like [
Gal. 5:19-21]). When you yield yourself to these you are making a decision to do so.
The
choice of Heaven, designating you as a servant of righteousness, will be seen by the presence of the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (
Gal. 5:22-23). Yielding to the Holy Ghost is also a conscious decision that you make.
The Law of Distribution:
Gal. 6:10, “…let us do good unto all men…”
1 Cor. 7:1-24
1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.
7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?
17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.
18 Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.
19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.
20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.
21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.
22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.
23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.
According to Pastor Michael Seebaugh, of Parkersburg, WV, the beauty of this passage on marriage is that it reveals to us a beautiful present that is best described as
the Gift of Perspective:
1. Your experiences prior to conversion and the subsequent ones afterwards give you a particular point-of-view that is unique to you.
2. Paul’s writing concerning marriage gives us insight into the fact that married couples, single individuals, divorced people, widows, and widowers all have various experiences that can benefit others.
3. Couples married for 50 years have wisdom in their perspective that the young married couples would be wise to heed.
4. The Church body is full of people who have many types of experiences and these are necessary for the distribution of the Gospel to the whole world.
What has God given to you that has been vitally important in your continual walk with Him?
Something He gave to you that you couldn’t have made it without?
Jesus?
Mercy?
Grace?
Godly Examples?
Pastors?
Holy Bible?
Godly Parents?
Salvation?
Love?
Faith?
Fruit of the Spirit?
Church?
Family?
Strength?
Prayer?
Praise?
Worship?
Holy Ghost?
Desire?
Wisdom?
Knowledge?
Apostles?
Evangelists?
Teachers?
Prophets?
These examples of God’s gift to you are the very things that He desires you to distribute to others. We need to learn how to distribute to others what God has produced in our lives.
Heed these words of wisdom:
“
The mercy you show is the mercy you’ll know.” – LouAnne Kuntzman
Rev. Seebaugh also suggests the following as
Principles of Distribution:
1.
You can’t distribute (give, divide, disperse, administer, bestow)
what you don’t have.
Look at the seven sons of Sceva (
Acts 19:13-20). God will bring exponential growth to what you do have if you give it to Him (
John 6:1-14)
2.
You don’t have to produce the product, but you do need to be able to access it for yourself and for distribution. God is Love. You don’t produce that, but you do possess it, and can access it. You need seed if you intend to sow.
3.
You need to be located where people can access your product easily. Are you approachable? Don’t hide behind your “shyness.”
4.
You should be focused on how to get the product to the client. Are you “soul conscious?” Do you look for opportunities to distribute?
5.
You need to have lots of room for your product. Your product is the testimony of God’s goodness in your life - - It is like seed to the sower. Sow seed by distributing it anywhere and everywhere you possibly can.
The diversity of gifts and offices were distributed for the purpose of Christian maturity in the Body of Christ - - the Church.
Eph. 4:11-16
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
The law of harvest and the law of distribution are cyclic -- they are similar to the law of cause and effect (causality).
Eph. 6:8, “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.”
Luke 6:35-36
35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
This passage (verse
35) is the ultimate test for some: “…love ye your enemies…do good, and lend, hoping for nothing…”
You cannot hold back from sowing into others for any reason.
Verse
38 is significant because it contains the promise of harvest for those who distribute what they have to others, and your level of harvest is directly linked to your level of distribution.
Don’t distribute as rich people do, but as the certain poor widow: “For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living” (
Mark 12:44).
Jesus Christ has distributed to you the Holy Ghost, which is Christ in you, and you are responsible to distribute the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others, in order that they can experience the same phenomenon.
This is why you are commanded by Jesus to “go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” It is here where we plainly see the law of distribution working in tandem with the law of harvest: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:15-18).
You are not told that every one will believe and obey the Gospel, but you are told that those who do receive what you distribute will receive an unprecedented harvest.
Refuse the excuse, “I have nothing to give.” Distribute what God has already given freely to you and you will witness a harvest. It is inevitable.
