ON THE VANGUARD

SEEDTIME AND HARVEST part 1
“And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, ‘Lift up thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to the seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.’”
Genesis 13:14-17

Allow me first to start off by admitting that I normally do not read from the King James Version, but something about this passage in this version connected with me. Over the next few days I would like to share a few of the lessons I have learned, and am learning, concerning seedtime and harvest. For those of you do not know, I am a graduate of Oral Roberts University. I say this not as a issue of arrogance or pride, but to simply point out that it was Oral’s theology of seed faith that shaped for the longest time my understanding of harvesting. That is to say, until recently when in studying, truths began to jump off the page.
In looking at Genesis 13:14-17, I see a series of principles that speak to me concerning this teaching. While we will not get to all of them today, I want to at least start. The first principle involves separation and embracing. If you recall the early days of Abraham, when he was still called Abram, you may recall that his father was an idol sales man. Genesis 12 states that God called Abram away from his father’s house to a land unknown, and that by this step of faith a great nation would be birthed. When we see Abram later in chapter 13, we see him apart from his father, but joined still with his nephew, Lot. It is then in verse 14 that God is again prompting in Abram the need to separate once more, this time from his nephew. Through a series of circumstances, the two do split and go their separate ways, but not before Abram is promised the land in each direction.
The first principle, then, should be easy to see. The promise of God was not able to be fulfilled until first Abram separated from his father and his nephew. In other words, for us to take possession of what God promises us, we first have to separate from the people and things that go against God. Worship of an idol does not mix with worship of the one true God. As long as Abram was connected with either of these two parties, he was unable to put God first and cleave to Him. And rightly so, until Abram embraced fully God alone, he would simple be placing the promised end result on hold.
How does this fit with seedtime and harvest? The answer to this lies in the fact that we must separate from our own hindrances. God cannot bless sin. Now I am not saying that all your friends are sinful, or that you need to live the life of a hermit. What I am saying, though, is that if anything or any person is greater in our lives than God, we are in sin because we are then making that item or person our god instead. We must leave the sin so that we may embrace God alone. In surrendering to Him, we leave the bondages of sin in exchange for the blessings of God. Remember that it was not until Abram and Lot did separate that God began to reveal further to Abram the next step in his life. It very well may be with us that God has given us a nugget, but will give us much more when we fully embrace Him as our God.
Let us continue in looking at another principle for seedtime and harvest from our Genesis text. This principle is found in the words of God to Abram. “’Lift up thine eyes.’” This second principle is based on where Abram was focused verses where he was being told to focus. Instead of just looking down at his current position, God told him to look in all directions, north, south, east, and west. All this land would be his. In essence, God was telling Abram that He was going to change his current situation. From that point, Abram had to stand on the words of God, believing that what He said would come to pass.
Now notice that the promise did not transpire right at that moment. Abram had to do the exact same thing that we are to do – he had to call those things that are not as though they are (Rom 4:17). Although God may choose to have us remain in our current position after giving us the promise, our perspective and attitude need to be one of faith. Our faith in the revelation God gives us will release the moving of God. To us God also says, “Lift up thine eyes.” Ecclesiastes 4:11 reminds us that he who regards the wind does not sow and he who regards the clouds does not reap. Basically, if we are stuck looking only at our current situation instead of being focused on Him, all we will ever see is wind and cloud. In changing our perception so that He is our focus, we are taking a right step in the blessing that He longs to pour out, for it is not what is that makes up our future but rather what is perceived to be in faith.
And from the second principle we jump right into the third, the grabbing of the vision. In Genesis 13:15, God declares to Abram the promise that all the land that is seen in each direction would be his. Once perception is changed, vision should change. We have to see the promise in faith in order to receive it in reality. I am reminded of my college days when I broke my leg. The news from the doctor was not positive concerning if and how I would be able to walk. The doctor’s words to me were that a surgical procedure would be needed to go in and have the bone screwed back together. I said bluntly, “No.” I trusted that God would heal me. I even wrote on my crutches that God would heal me. I had the promise of healing from Isaiah 53, as well as from each of the gospels. So with the sight of this promise I began to receive it in reality. Within two weeks I was crutchless, and within six weeks I was walking again, never having had the surgery. When I went back for my check up and saw the x-rays, the bone that was once split was congealed and no split was seen.
Proverbs 29:18 tells us that without a vision we perish. I had a vision; I was not about to perish and go through surgery when I knew God could heal. But the promise has to become what we see in faith. Abram could have heard the words of God and thought it was cool. Instead, he heard the words of God, looked in the directions, and grabbed by faith what was promised. Keep in mind that before we can take possession of the promise we must have vision. It must be seen by faith in order to be received in reality.
Like Abram, God desires to bless us. This can only happen, though, when our lives and our faith are in sync with Him. I encourage you to move in these principles, and ones yet to be talked about. I encourage you rid the Lot in your life, lift us your eyes, and have the vision so you can receive the blessing.