Sowing and Reaping Series

Gen: 2:15: And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (Cultivate it)

1Cor: 3:6-9: I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. (This scripture is to show that cultivation takes place in human hearts.)

Mk: 4:14-20: The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. (This is the fainting referred to in Heb: 12:1-13.) And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirty fold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Those on stony ground – without deep roots fainted. Mk: 4:17, using the Amplified Bible, sheds light on why they fell away. It says they immediately were offended – became displeased, indignant, and resentful and they stumbled and fell away. In Matt: 13:21 it says – when the trouble comes they were repelled and began to distrust and desert him whom they ought to trust and obey and they fell away.

How did those whose heart was good ground manage not to faint as the flighty one did?

Jas: 1:2-8: My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

The next category of believer’s soil is okay, but they have other things growing in their heart besides the Word of God – there are weeds and thorns growing there too. The weeds and thorns (other priority interests) choked the Word and it bears no fruit. In the Amplified Bible, it says thorns are the cares and anxieties of the world, the distractions of the age, and the pleasures and delight and false glamour, and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things and that they creep in and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.

In this parable Jesus covers everything that causes a church or person to be non-productive, stagnate, immature, and/or even dead – some seed fell on good ground and brought forth fruit, thirty, sixty, and even one hundred times as much as was sown – they are the ones who hear the Word, and receive and accept and welcome it and bear fruit with patience.

Why do we need all that much patience? Because we already read that Satan wants to snatch the Word away. And we already read that tests and trials come because of the Word sown. And we read about people letting other things come in and grow in their hearts and that these things choke the Word of God out.

The fourth reason is Mk: 4:26-28: And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. (It takes quality time.) God assures us in Gal: 6:9, that we shall reap in due season, if we faint not.

Yet, another point is how much understanding the person has. In Matt: 13:23 in the Amp. V. it says the person with the good soil grasped and understood the Word and therefore yielded a good harvest. That ties in with what Jesus said next in Mk: 4:23-25: If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. The Amp. V. says, the measure of thought and study you give to the truth you hear will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes back to you and more besides will be given to you who hear. This brings me to the next point, take heed what you sow.

Gal: 6:7-9: Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 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. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.(There’s the warning about fainting again.)

In Prov: 4:20-23: we read: My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

In Rom: 13:14 we are told to clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for indulging the flesh – put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature-to gratify its desires (lusts).

This all has to do with sowing and reaping. If you sow soap operas, guess what you are going to reap. If you sow babbling ‘Talk shows’, you will become a babbler. Whatever you are feeding into your computer (mind) will come out. If you do not feed it in, it cannot come out – garbage in, garbage out.

If you have chosen to be Christ-like, you must feed much on the Word of God. If you want to overcome, you must feed much on the Word of God. If you want to be protected from lies and the liar, you must feed on the Word of God. If you want to know how to handle trouble when it comes, you must feed on the Word of God. If you want faith in God’s promises, you must feed on the Word of God. If you want to know the truth, you must feed on the Word of God. If you want strength to avoid temptation, you must feed on the Word of God. If you want to have the right attitudes toward all situations so that you can avoid resentment, frustration, anger, pouting, and anxiety, you must feed on the Word of God.

I have presented the case for cultivation: Cultivate your gardens!

© Sylvia Huffnagle

How to Sow the Word - Isa: 28

Isaiah 28:5-6: In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.

(God is looking for the day when Christians truly are led by His Spirit and not by man’s understanding of His Spirit. You can tell which one by the results. When God’s Spirit is truly in operation the church will bear good fruit – she will be godly and effective – effective in what? Evangelization? Yes, but also the church needs to be effective as being light and salt – the culture will then see godly standards.)

7-8: But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.

(The strong wine (has fermented or become stagnant) here is man’s understanding and teaching of the Bible. The vomit is people teaching what they have learned from other teachers instead of learning from God and teaching the pure wine of truth.).

9-13: Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

(God says He had some teachers, but the people would not hear the straight stuff, so teachers began teaching the stuff the people would tolerate or that they liked and so it was line upon line and precept upon precept until they fell away backward. That is teachers keep teaching the same things over and over and therefore the church never goes on with God, in fact over time she goes backward or loses ground – accepts lower standards.)

14-22: Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. (flee in panic) Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.

(God is speaking to those who have short-changed His Word, His teachings, and His precepts. Many people think they will be all right with God because of what Jesus has done for mankind. But they have been wrongly taught and have misunderstood what God was doing. Had they heeded the word – such as Isaiah 8:20: To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. – they would not have been fooled. There are many scriptures that can be used to help a person understand why God sent Jesus. He sent Jesus to restore those who will accept His offer to spiritual life, not to mainly get sinners into heaven, but to give Christians the power to resist the devil. But the group that God is referring to in the above scripture is those who really didn’t want to hear the hard stuff, they just wanted to get by – that was Cain’s attitude and God told him in Genesis 4:7 Amp. V.: If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it. The above group thought they could get away with a short-changed gospel and God says it can’t be done. He calls that kind of believing a covenant with death. And He goes on to tell them that that is why they have a short-changed salvation. [Vs 20] The strange work that God is doing today is told about in 2Thess: 2:11-12: And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.)

(The last segment of Isaiah 28 is teaching about sowing and reaping.) 23: Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? Doth he open and break the clods of his ground?

(God is saying to teachers and preachers the first thing you have to do to sow His word is the break up the fallow ground – prepare the ground. How? Using the Bible, show the class or congregation the love of God, the righteousness of God, the mandate of God, the inevitable results of disobeying God, and the inevitable results of obeying God. That, if taught rightly, should have the people eager to receive forgiveness and a new life.)

24-25: When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin; and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and rie in their place?

(He says the next thing that must be done is to sow the right seed, the right way, to the right people or group. That’s right – one group might need the foundation laid – the milk of the word. That would be new believers and the young children. Another group needs the next step up in instruction, and a third group is ready to move on to greater understanding. Not only is He talking about what teachers sow, but He points out that there are different methods of sowing for different seeds. He will teach the teacher who is being led by His Spirit how to teach and what to teach.)

26-29: For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen. This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.

(Now we find out that it’s not just getting the ground ready and planting the right seeds, but there is a certain way to harvest each kind of seed also. God says the teacher must have discretion. He must be able to discern the right approach – the one that will zero in and get the desired result.

So Isaiah 28 teaches the considerations involved in sowing and then reaping. My reason for pointing this scripture out is because I don’t think that many teachers are following this instruction. I think mostly that they throw everything out there on unplowed ground and hope some of it will come up. Very seldom do they harvest or even know when harvest time has come.)

© Sylvia Huffnagle

A Time to Sow and A Time to Reap

Sometimes people lay responsibility on Christians that they cannot handle. They can’t handle them because they haven’t reached that level of maturity yet. Teachers must remember that God is Father and we are all children at different levels of growth.

A child should not be expected to think and behave as an adult. Father is the epitome of adulthood and Christians are all in different stages of development.

Listen, Christians, if you don’t hear the truth in your spirit and see it with your spiritual understanding, you can’t do it. Don’t let teachers put a guilt trip on you for not being fully mature when you are only, say 8 yrs. old in your understanding. One of the things Jesus wanted to accomplish was to set Christians free from guilt trips.

Heb: 7:24-27: But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

To make the matter clear, I am not talking about deliberate sin. Those who have come to God have repented of their ways and have covenanted with God to receive Him as Father to be trusted and obeyed. And He has covenanted with those who receive His salvation to be a loving, providing Father.

1Jn: 3:6: Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

© Sylvia Huffnagle

Break Up the Fallow Ground

Jer: 1:1-6: If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove. 2: And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. 3: For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 4: Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. 5: Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. 6: Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

I believe the largest mistake that the church is making is how they are handling the call to salvation. In fact today, it appears that most of those who evangelized are trying to make God’s plan even simpler – telling the hearer that all they have to do is believe that Jesus is the Savior and confess it with their mouth.

Some will say, “Well isn’t that what Rom: 10: 9-10 says?” No, not exactly. It says if you confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. The key word there is Lord. If you do Rom: 10:9-10 – that is: confess His Lordship in your life and walk it out, you will be saved. But too many are just agreeing with their mouth that Jesus is the Savior and are therefore hoping to go to heaven without having repented of their ways and turned to His.

As I was saying, if the call were handled correctly, I think at least three fourth of the church’s problems would be solved. Let me show you what I mean.

Though this should have been the first article in my sowing and reaping series, since it deals with preparing the ground, the inspiration came now, so it will have to be the fourth in the series.

In the above passage of scripture God calls the people to repent. He wants them to assemble and humbly repent and confess Him as Lord. He has Jeremiah refer to this as breaking up the fallow ground. That is what is not being done in the modern call to salvation.

Before the call to salvation is made, the hearers should be thoroughly convinced of their own inability to save themselves, and of their own inability to walk in agape love without God’s indwelling, and with their own inability to handle their own affairs the way God calls them to successfully, and they should be convinced that Jesus is the only way to God and the only way to eternal life.

This is breaking up the fallow ground. Now that the hearer is convinced that they can only have eternal life and live successfully by receiving Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they are probably ready even eager to receive Jesus, but they still need to see just how destructive selfishness and rebellion are. This is done by reading scriptures that show agape love in practice.

All of God’s commandments and mandates are agape love in practice, but the hearer must understand that the carnal nature or self serving nature is at enmity with God and will not and can not please Him i/e they cannot walk in agape love without a complete makeover.

Next the hearers must be shown God’s remedy for all of this. This is found in Rom: 6-8. God arranged for the carnal nature to be crucified with Christ and then He made it possible for the receiver to be resurrected with new life – a life in Christ and Christ in them.

Then they should be called up front to be led in a sinner’s prayer – make it severe and thorough. There is a great advantage to a person to be broken-hearted over their sin. (Jas: 4:8-10: Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.9: Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10: Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.)

They should be made to understand their upcoming baptism. The evangelist needs to explain that when they are immersed they are acting out their crucifixion and when they come up out of the water, they will be testifying to their resurrection from the dead into new life in Christ.

They should be made to understand the covenant that they are entering into. They are covenanting to receive God as their Father and God, promising to trust and obey Him. This is not something that was meant to take a lifetime to learn. At the time of salvation, a person is to repent of disobedience and rebellion and receive God’s authority in their life. God is covenanting to be the person’s Father in every sense of the word. He will take care of them, shelter them, teach them, provide for them, help them, heal them, and feed and clothe them.

Think about what kind of congregation a church would have if this was how the call was handled.

© Sylvia Huffnagle

Sowing the Right Seeds

How can Christians overcome with today’s thinking? It takes Bible thinking to be a real Christian witness and to overcome.

When calling people to salvation or to serve the Lord we sow the seeds of the benefits that are promised in the Bible. But in teaching Christians how to live, it is far more powerful and effective to teach not from the angle of what do Christians stand to benefit, though that part should not be excluded, but from the angle of them being servants of the Lord. We should teach from the angle of their being members of the body of Christ.

Here’s how it works:

Many today are trying to give Christians incentive to walk in God’s way by listing all the earthly and heavenly benefits for doing so. The Bible does tell us of earthly and heavenly benefits for the obedient, but there is a more powerful incentive.

When a person receives God’s offer of salvation, they come into covenant with God. On their end of the covenant they are to trust and obey Him – they are to receive Him as their Father. On His end He is to be Father to them – that is be their parent, guardian, and provider. That is the greatest blessing and benefit. After hearing about that, the listener should be eager to find out how it all works. I’m, at this time, talking about the call to salvation and I already owned that the benefits the recipient can expect right now are of the utmost of importance and should be elaborated on.

Once you have convinced them that it is entirely in their interest to repent and be reconciled to God, it is time to go into thorough detail about God’s brilliant and perfect plan to save them. They need to understand that they are about to enter into Christ’s crucifixion – their carnal desires are not to rule in their lives anymore thus God provided for our lower nature to be crucified. So it’s repentance, crucifixion, and then new life or the resurrection from the dead.

That’s how it works. If they don’t understand that, how are they going to live the new life in Christ which is a life based upon their new desire to please the Godhead rather than to please their carnal nature? That’s where the power lies. Any gospel that does not teach that is not the true gospel.

Now once the sinner has repented of doing things their way and has received Jesus into their heart, they are cultivated ground ready for proper sowing.

The angle for this stage is to emphasize Jesus. Magnify Him. Teach all about His nature, His attitudes, His way of life. Belabor the details of His beauty, His love, His sacrificial nature, and the monumental task He completed when He ascended into heaven to start His High Priestly ministry. The desired result is for the new believer to be stirred to a high state of love, appreciation, admiration, and gratitude toward Him. This state should be nurtured regularly.

Teach them all about His High Priestly ministry and teach them all about the empowerment we have through His acts and His presence.

Then weekly the new or young converts should be taught how to relate their conduct to Jesus and be taught their part as a member of His body. Christianity is not a single player effort. Each Christian in the local body is a designated member of Christ’s body and should be fitly joined to the other members. The teacher needs to stress this point – that the body works together for the cause of Christ. It’s not we work together for the common good. It’s not we work together to promote the church. It’s we work together to continue Christ’s work.

As you teach them to relate their activities to Christ and His body, you also teach them how to conduct their affairs and progressively learn to walk in love – teach them to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. The power lies in worshipping Jesus in one’s heart and conscientiously living one day at a time in a manner that will promote Jesus’ cause.

It’s all about Jesus. Convincing people to receive Jesus is about them – what will happen to them if they do or they don’t, but once they enter into covenant with God, it’s about being about the Father’s business. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. What else is there?

News flash: My outline is not original – this is the way the Bible handles things.

So as soon as a child is old enough to go to a Sunday school class, he or she should be taught to relate their conduct to Jesus. Examples of how to teach little children:

You do not teach them to be kind and to be good. When you do that, they know they ought to be that way, but if they don’t feel like it, most times they won’t have the power to do it.

You teach them about Jesus with the goal of causing them to love Him. Once you have them wanting to be like Jesus and to make Jesus happy, then you teach them how: Tell them like this:

Jesus is kind to people and He wants us to be kind to people too. Jesus is our example of how to behave as children of God. Every time you are kind, Jesus smiles.

You teach: We show grace to others, because God showed grace toward us and gave us the Spirit of grace. That means we try to bless people just because Jesus wants us to. We don’t have to feel like being loving toward somebody, we do it because we have Jesus, the lover, in our hearts.

Teach them to be generous by telling them: Jesus is the wisest man in the world and He said: It is better to give than to receive. Learn to be a giver and you will see what He means. Give them the scriptures that assure us of a great return on our investment, because that makes it easier for them to share generously.

To teach patience, you say: We are patient with people because God is patient toward us. Read scriptures that talk about the importance of patience.

You use pictures to show Jesus ministering to people and you tell the story that goes with the picture and don’t stop there – teach them that as Jesus is, so are we in this world. Teach them that Jesus is the Light and now He is in heaven helping all of us, His body on the earth, be light for others.

On and on it goes everything is taught from the angle that we have been bought with a price and we are no longer our own – we belong to God and this is a very good thing because He is the most wonderful Father. Teach them that Jesus is our shepherd and this is very good, because we need a shepherd and He is the most wonderful Shepherd.

Nurturing the crops:

Nurturing is done by repeatedly teaching them what the full armor of God is and how to put it on.

Harvesting takes place when the student blossoms out and begins to show their areas of expertise.

Along the same lines as likening the teaching of believers to sowing and reaping, we can use the illustration of team effort in building a magnificent building.

It is imperative for church leaders to build on the firm foundation spoken of in Eph: 2:20: And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

This means that the information God has given us through the prophets, and the apostles and Jesus Himself are the foundation that we build on. There is no other. So, new believers must be taught the things that are taught by these three sources. Not just what Jesus said, not just New Testament, but the history of God’s dealings with mankind and the books of the prophets must be taught.

If any of this information is ignored, disregarded, or distorted the building will not be godly. It will not be magnificent. It will not glorify God.

Also the building materials must be of top quality. Not wood, hay, or stubble, but silver and gold. Wisdom, faith, and love are the precious metals in the Bible. Biblical wisdom is heeded. Biblical faith is tried. And Biblical love is exercised.

© Sylvia Huffnagle

They Have Sown Wheat, but Reaped Thorns

To understand this: Think contemporary and think from a spiritual angle.

Jer: 12:1-2: Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? 2: Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins.

(Why did Jeremiah call these God worshippers wicked and treacherous? Because they confessed to worship God, but they lived like the world.)

3: But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.

(This is what happens to Christians that go on living like the world, they get slaughtered. Why? Because Christians are supposed to follow Jesus not the world. Jesus is the good Shepherd.)

4: How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

(This describes the churches’ condition. We have not brought about salvation – not anyway near to the degree that we were ordained to produce.)

5-9: If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? 6: For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee. 7: I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. 8: Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it. 9: Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.

(God talks to Jeremiah here. He says His prophets must be tough and stand fast. He agrees that these so called God worshippers are treacherous and He says He is going to let them alone. He intends to let them reap what they are sowing. What else could He do? If a person promises to trust and obey Him, but then goes right on trusting and obeying the world, what can He do, but let them learn the hard way. I know it says in Isa: 54:7: For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. 8: In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. But He also said in Isa: 54:13: And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children. That is the key to all of this. Christians must be taught of the Lord.)

10-11: Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. 11: They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.

(Many pastors have been wrongly taught and are wrongly teaching. It’s as in Isa: 28:7: But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. 8: For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. [When you sow God’s seed, be careful not to trample it.)

12-13: The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the LORD shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace. 13: They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

(This is the inevitable result of following the world and not following Jesus.)

14-17: Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15: And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. 16: And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people. 17: But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD.

(The church can apply this. I know that the land in that passage is Israel and that it is a warning to any who try to possess the Jews inheritance, but the church is not enjoying her spiritual inheritance on the level that it was given to them and the answer is the same. If they will diligently learn God’s ways and swear by His name, the church can become the glorious church that God intended. Otherwise, in these last days, God will only have a remnant and most of the church will join the great whore.)

Jer: 13:1-7: Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. 2: So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my loins. 3: And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, 4: Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. 5: So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6: And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there. 7: Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.

8-11: Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 9: Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10: This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. 11: For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.

(That’s where the church belongs – cleaving to the Lord as a girdle cleaves to a man’s loins. God says here that that’s how He had in mind for Christians to be His people. They would cleave unto Him and He would teach them His ways and lead them in a straight path. 2 Cor: 6:17-18: Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18: And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.)

12-14: Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? 13: Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. 14: And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

(This is the same drunkenness as in Isaiah 28. God is talking about an adulterated gospel.)

15-17: Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken. 16: Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. 17: But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD’s flock is carried away captive.

18-21: Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory. 19: The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive. 20: Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock? 21: What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?

22-23: And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare. 23: Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

24-27: Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness. 25: This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood. 26: Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear. 27: I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?

(God calls for the church to humble themselves. He has in mind the solemn assembly in Joel: 2:15-18: Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17: Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? 18: Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.

God asks if a leopard can change his spots – He is saying that a Christian cannot be a Christian unless they have Jesus operating in their heart, otherwise they are only human.

The sowing lesson in this article is; don’t trample your crops, keep the pollution out, and if you are not truly in Christ, God will not bless your crops.)

© Sylvia Huffnagle