Evangelism Lesson Three
Between Sowing and Reaping
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
FOCUS: Explain the
law of sowing and reaping as it relates to evangelism.
what i have learned
A common theme that runs throughout this book is the law of
sowing and reaping. This is also known as the Law of the Harvest. God promised
that what we sow, we shall reap. We cannot reap a harvest if we are not
involved in sowing the seed. What you sow is what you get!
Robert Louis Stevenson once said, “Don’t judge each day by
the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.”
“He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that
regardeth the clouds shall not reap. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the
evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper,
either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good” (Ecclesiastes
11:4, 6).
Our job is to sow the seed, despite the prevailing
circumstances around us, and to leave the results up to God.
Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah said, “I have sown
the seed and indeed it will germinate.” He understood the law of sowing and
reaping.
A Look at the Scriptures
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also
sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (2
Corinthians 9:6).
“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and
it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
To reap a harvest we need:
þ Seed
(the Word of God),
þ Soil
(the unreached), and
þ Sower
(the evangelist or witness).
Farm life follows a cycle: early rains, fields plowed, seeds
planted, crops cultivated, and finally harvested. Farmers are often uneducated,
but they know how to get a harvest.
Seasons
Preparing the Soil
|
Prayer
|
Planting the Seed
|
God’s Word
|
Cultivating (Watering)
|
1 Corinthians 3:5-6
|
Nurturing
(Pull the Weeds)
|
Address doubts and questions. Continue to cultivate the
relationship with the potential convert.
|
Harvest
|
Prospect is converted.
|
Process begins again
|
Between sowing and reaping, there are many
dangers—drought, dry winds, locusts or other bugs, weeds (tares/thorns), and
theft by birds. In Bible times crops were protected by watchmen (Jeremiah
4:17). The need for watchmen increased as the time of harvest neared.
There cannot be reaping until sowing takes place.
Someone must sow before another can reap.
When someone comes forward in an altar service, they
bring a long history of soil being prepared and seeds being planted.
“And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit
unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice
together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I
sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye
are entered into their labours” (John 4:36-38).
Tim Downs in his Discipleship
Journal article, “Sowing Circle,” introduces four principles.
1. The
labor of ministry includes both sowing and reaping.
2. The reaper’s success depends on the work of
the sower. “I sent you to reap what you have not worked for.”
3. The
sower has the harder job. “Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped
the benefits of their labor.” It takes one day to harvest what has been
nurtured for months.
4. The
sower and reaper work as a team. “The sower and the reaper may be glad
together.”
“The fields tell the farmer what task is required
for the day.”
(Tim Downs, Discipleship
Journal)
The law of the harvest teaches us that:
þ You
reap later than you plant.
þ If
you do not plant, you will not reap.
þ You
reap in proportion to what you have planted. (Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-8.)
“Consider carefully what you hear," he continued.
"With the measure you use, it will be measured to you-and even more.
Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be
taken from him" (Mark 4:24-25 NIV).
You always reap more than you plant. Someone has said, “Any
fool can count the seeds in one apple, but only God can count the apples in one
seed.”
One small kernel of corn is planted. It produces two stalks,
and each one has two ears of corn. Each ear contains over seven hundred kernels
of corn. From one small seed 2,800 more kernels are produced.
Farmers value their seed, knowing that the seeds sown today
will determine the harvest reaped tomorrow.
If seeds are carefully and prayerfully planted, God will
cause them to produce.
A farmer evaluates everything he does to see if the activity
contributes to the harvest. Harvest is that amazing season when farmers gather
the fruits of their effort. It is always harvest time for the church. The world
is a field, ready to be harvested (John 4:35).
what have you learned?
1. What
is the “law of the harvest”?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2. What
do you think Robert L. Stevenson meant by, “ Don’t judge the day by the harvest
you reap but by the seeds you plant”?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3. What
did Kwame Nkrumah say as quoted in this lesson?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4. Write
out Galatians 6:7. Learn this verse by memory.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________________
5. What
is needed in order to reap a harvest?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
6. What
are the various seasons of farming?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
7. When
someone comes to God is this usually a result of one person planting the seed
of God’s Word? Explain.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
8. Who
has the hardest job, the sower or the reaper? Explain.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
9. What
does the law of the harvest teach us?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
10.How
many kernels of corn can be produced from one kernel?___________
11.When
is it harvest time for the
church?___________________________________________________________
Comments
Post a Comment