Plowing, Sowing, Reaping

“Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” -Matthew 13:1-9 (NKJV)

From The Desk of Pastor Ron Bridge, Rehoboth Baptist Church

How many of us long to see revival? During the Great Awakening in the 18th century it is estimated that about 50,000 people joined the churches during a 5 year period. Considering the size of the population of some 3 million that was a remarkable percentage, perhaps the equivalent of 6 million conversions today. It had a tremendous impact on the nation. Schools were started, hospitals built, the national conscience was awakened, the first efforts to eliminate slavery were begun, and crime rates fell dramatically. What kind of impact would such a revival have on the nation today? It would mean the construction of 43,000 churches the size of RBC. Apportioning them according to population, some 3100 churches would need to be built in New England. That would be a sight! Even the secular world would have to take notice.

We live in a society where those kind of results would be appreciated, a society in which instant gratification is demanded. People do not want to wait for things - that’s why credit card debt is so high. People are not willing to spend the time required to save up until they have the money to pay cash. They want the results but not the effort. The church is not immune from this mindset and so it eagerly adopts methods that promise quick results. Many pastors feel inadequate by the apparent success of the mega churches and decide to adopt some of the same techniques - they rarely work. Or they appear to work but with questionable results. A great deal of modern revivalism yields a very mixed harvest.

How was the Great Awakening brought about? By long years of faithful prayer and the faithful preaching of a few good men. Listen to Lloyd-Jones: I affirm that much of the modern approach with its techniques and methods is unnecessary if we really believe in the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and His application of God’s message...Should we not concentrate more, as the church has done through the centuries, upon praying for, and laying the basis of Christian instruction for revival as it is described in the Bible?

The most prominent names of the Great Awakening are Edwards, Whitefield, Gilbert Tennant and Samuel Davies. But, in many respects these were just the most visible of those involved - they were the reapers of the harvest. But before a man can reap what has to happen? Plowing and sowing. The story is told of one Congregational minister in a town near Hartford who had preached the gospel for 20 years without a single conversion. Whitefield preached and 50 people came to Christ in the next two weeks, over 100 in 3 months. Other stories are told of men who preached faithfully only to retire from the ministry after a life in which very few were converted, or even die without seeing the fruits of their labor. Then, one of the more well known preachers arrived in town for a week of meetings and half the population come under biblical conviction. The Great Awakening was a rich harvest, but the groundwork was done over a period of almost half a century prior to the harvest.

Christians were plowing - breaking up the hard ground by their prayers and the consistent preaching of the word. They faithfully tilled the soil and sowed the seed - and in His time God gave the increase (1 Cor. 3:5-8).

Plowing: 1 Cor. 9:10

* Plowing is hard work, one does not plow a field in an hour, it requires perseverance. Paul could have used another illustration but chose one which implies labor.

* Plowing is to be done in the hope of an eventual harvest which also implies that patience is an important part - it does not happen quickly - plowing is only the first step.

* Plowing illustrates the labor of the gospel - prayer and preaching.

Sowing: Isa. 55:10-11; Mark 4:14; 2 Cor. 9:6-10

* The word of God is to be sowed liberally, not sparingly. If Christians do not pray and do not preach, the harvest will be lean. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:14-15).

Reaping: John 4:35-38; Psalm 126:6; Gal. 6:9

* It is not just the reaper who enjoys the harvest, he is a partner with the ones who went before him.

* Reaping is as much hard work as plowing and sowing.

* And results in great joy.

Before we reap we must be willing to plow and then to sow. Are we willing?