Galatians 6: 7 - 9, Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. NKJV
As a pastor/teacher, I have taught on obedience for ten years. One night as I was teaching on obedience, the Lord had me use different terminology. He showed me by the Holy Spirit that when we obey as His children, we are, in fact, sowing (seeds) into our own future. It can't be much of a stretch to believe this to be true seeing how Paul used the same term in the scripture for today's word.
Whether you and I decide to sow according to our flesh or according to the Spirit of God, we will do so through the acts that we commit. Have you heard the voice of the Lord speak to you lately with instructions? In John 10, Jesus tells us that His sheep know His voice and another, they won't follow. If you are a Christian, but don't know how to recognize His voice, then that can change for you today. God requires us to be still and wait before Him until we hear His voice. God generally doesn't try to speak over the noise of something that has more of our attention than He does. Therefore, He requires us to get serious about seeking Him and hearing from Him before He speaks to us.
Here's the main reason I believe God wants us to gain a different understanding about our obedience to His voice. Since God first spoke to man in Genesis 1, He has chosen to speak to us by a promise or prophesy with conditions attached. He has chosen this method of communication and instruction because it requires us to fulfill the requirements of the promise first. It also demands that we live by faith. The writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter ten that we have need of patience after we have done the will of God in order that we might receive the promise of God. This confirms to us that God's promises have requirements that we must fulfill before He can release the harvest of that promise.
Jesus refers to the Word of God as being "SEED." He taught on the parable of the sower and used this one parable as a basis to understand all of His parables. As we receive the SEED of God's Word into our hearts and obey it, then our sowing of the seed (or obedience) will release God to give us the blessing. As we continue in His Word through obedient faith, we will have a continual harvest of God's blessings in our lives. Doesn't the Word instruct us to be instant in season and out of season? We are to be obedient when we feel like and when we don't. We are to obey God, whether we agree with Him or not. Why? God's wants us to receive His blessings continually through fulfilled promises so that we might not lack in any good thing.
Finally, Abraham obeyed God in Genesis 22 by taking Isaac upon Mount Moriah and offering him up to God as He commanded. After Abraham fully obeyed God's will, God spoke to him through a promise of victory for his descendants. As a consequence of Abraham's sowing or obedience upon the Mount, God could speak a blessing over the descendants of Abraham. "Your seed shall possess the gates of their enemies." Abraham sowed in obedience, but his descendants would be the ones who would reap the harvest.
If you're a Christian, but you haven't heard of this type of devotion to the Lord, then there's a good chance that you're not seeing the full release of God's blessings in your life as well. Remember, faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God. Once you know a truth, and you implement that truth, you can begin to get a harvest from that truth in your personal life. When you begin to hear the voice of God AND obey His commands, you will want to continue to obey no matter what may come your way. Why? Jesus tells us in John 15 that if we will continue (OBEY) in His Word and abide in Him, then we will bear much fruit.
Galatians 6: 9, And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. NKJV
I Rest My Case,
Pastor Asa
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