Law 3: We Reap in a Different Season than We Sow
I. The Foundation for this Law
A. The Creative Purpose of God
"While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." (Ge. 8:22)
1. The harvest never comes immediately after planting for, while the earth abides, there is seedtime and harvest, cold and winter, etc.
2. There are seasons to life and the harvest never comes immediately.
a. Rome was not built in a day.
b. Plants don't grow overnight.
c. Athletes don't become strong or proficient in a week.
d. Wisdom isn't gained overnight, and so it goes through out all of life.
B. "In Due Time" or "Season"
1. Negatively.
"To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste." (Deu 32:35)
2. Positively
"Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD." (1 Sam 1:20)
"The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season." (Psa 145:15)
"These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season." (Psa 104:27)
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (Gal 6:9)
C. The Necessity of Time and Growth in All Things
1. Note: Eccl. 3:1-8 2. This passage reminds us there is a time for everything which teaches us we can't rush the laws of God nor should we try to ignore them.
II. Applications of this Law
A. Without question we reap what we sow, but the prin-ciple mankind doesn't want to face is we reap in a different season.
B. There are several important factors here:
1. Because we do not see the immediate results, we often think we have gotten away with some-thing or can, but we never do.
"Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:" (Eccl 8:11-12)
2. We live in a self-oriented society that says "do your own thing," or "to thine own self be true."
a. This is a society that is therefore given over to instant gratification.
b. We have instant every-thing: instant tea, instant oatmeal, quick rice, TV dinners, and microwave cooking.
c. We can jump into an automobile and either whiz across town in minutes, across most states in a few hours, or board a plane and 12 hours later be in Europe.
d. We watch a TV program and see family conflicts or national conflicts resolved in one hour, or at the most in a mini-series, four hours, but in reality, these things often require months and even years to resolve or change.
e. The younger generation today has the mentality of wanting and expecting to have all the material blessings and advantag-es their parents have.
f. The difference is the parents often had to wait years to accumulate what they have.
g. Often younger people are not willing to save, do without, and wait.
h. We want what we want when we want it which is usually, right now, or preferably, yesterday.
3. So, because we are accustomed to immediate grati-fica-tion, we are too often unwilling to wait for the results of biblical sowing--sowing what is good and waiting on the Lord and His timing.
a. We take matters into our own hands.
b. We run ahead of the Lord.
c. We employ our own strategies and methods:
d. We don't want to wait on the Lord!
e. We want to reap without sowing!
"I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning." (Psa 130:5-6)
"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth." (Psa 37:7-9)
The Law of the Harvest says, "We sow in one season; we reap in another." No harvest comes the moment the seed is planted, but it must wait for God's appointed time. This should be both a warning against sowing evil and an encourage-ment for sowing good seed.