Are You The Plowman Or The Reaper?

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Hey, welcome to the podcast today. We're going to look at the path that you currently have and the progression that you are considering the anticipation for the path for the future. So the current path, where you are now, the pathway into the future, everything in between. We're looking at something Amos said in chapter 9, the principle of the end of time bringing us to a place where the plowman will overtake the reaper. The plowman will overtake the reaper. So from, you know, just a sense of like an agricultural understanding, a farmer's understanding of what that means at harvest time, you have a distinction between the sowing of seed and the time of harvesting. So this particular verse is speaking to that time, to the harvest time, which we're clearly in now. This principle is that there is one who sows and then plows the seed, you know, to turn the soil, to allow the seed to go under the soil and begin to come forth as the fruit of the seed. There's the reaper that steps in to harvest the crop and then the plowman comes in again, get this, to turn over the soil, to turn up whatever is left of, whatever is left, just the very last remnants of the fruit of the last sowing. So there comes a time, Amos prophesied, that the plowman would overtake the reaper.

So this process would be that you wouldn't be able to distinguish between when one was taking place and the other. Are you the plowman? Are you the reaper? Listen, I'm going to tell you something, you're both, you are sowing, cultivating the seed that you've sown, that includes your life, your words, your career, your ministry, and you also are the one that God expects to harvest the seed, to harvest the fruit of the seed. So it's very important to assess where you are. That would include where you are not, in matters that are between you and the Lord, that includes people and situations that you currently are holding before the Lord. Let me say that again. You need to assess where you are and where you are not. You know, you can't live where you aren't really.

You know, it's a reality check really. In matters that you have held before the Lord, concerning the situations and the people around you, these dynamically affect, dynamically I mean in a progressive, ongoing, not a stagnant way, the way that you are able to discern the path you're on and how it leads you into the future. So you need to consider being more intentional.

That's the first thing. Be more intentional to hone your skills and your gifts and to identify what those are. A great example would be, you know, a surgeon who's scheduled for a procedure today is not unsure about his or her role in that procedure or the stakes, the outcome, what the price, the price that will be paid one way or the other. So from a mindset like that you can see how definitive you can become and the enemy of being that definitive and that focused on what is true for you and what is appointed for you, again like the example of the surgeon, would be to be more inwardly myopic, like we instead of becoming big picture focused, we tend, I mean just humanly speaking now this is human nature, we tend to turn inward, become myopic about those things and as the battle intensifies, as obstacles increase, obviously because our focus is inward, that's where we begin to feel the pressure, the pain. We've all experienced it.

We've experienced it recently. I know because it's true for me. When you feel the inward pressures, questions, doubts and demands that are weighing in on you, remember that's probably not even where you in your thought life, in your meditation should be. You need to be like the surgeon.

You have a life and death procedure to perform this morning and it's in your hands. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say it that way. Actually I don't know that you can really over define or expand the understanding because again we tend to be human in these ways. We tend to sort of go for the low bar. So raise that bar. You can do that. You need to be less drawn into and literally I mean into, and literally I mean into, don't be drawn into matters in which you have absolutely no control.

None. You need to do less speaking to and about those things as though you did have control. Again we're assessing where you are and where you are not. In this case you shouldn't pretend to have control and act that way when in fact you don't have control. You do not have control over people. Most of the time you do not have control over things and situations. God is the sovereign and that is your best position to be in covenant with Him. He's the He's the sovereign.

He is the one who sees everything and does have the influence, the ability to influence. Let me give you another example. This would be giving birth at any time.

I've had three children or I have three children. They're adults now but at the time that you come to the time of giving birth, I'm trying to think of the way to say this correctly, and I'm thinking specifically of my firstborn child. This was very, I mean this was a real pivotal time in my life. Maybe others would say the same. You know, in the birthing process, it occurred to me, I can remember it so clearly, you are at a point where you leave having control and you realize that what you are doing is not something that you can control or object to or complain about.

It's much more fruitful to yield to, to lean into the process that is playing out, relax, and lean into participating and cooperating to the very best of your ability with what will ultimately produce the outcome that you intensely desire. And it's a separator. In this case, you could say pain, you know, not to magnify that aspect of childbirth, but it is a separator. It clearly defines who you are, who you are not, what you can do, and what you cannot. Now I understand that there are drugs today that can override all of that discomfort. That was not the path that I chose for many reasons. However, it stands out in my memory how, of what an effective learning lesson it was.

So just taking, going from there, taking that example to apply it, listen wherever you are, assess your place, and then let's just get on with it. Stop beating the air with futile words. They won't change anything.

You can't control those things. Bottom line, you need to settle it. Settle it. Settle this. Settle two things. I think this would be inclusive.

This would take you from A to Z effectively. Settle two things. God is God. Trust Him completely. Resist any thoughts, those renegade thoughts to the contrary, to the contrary that God is God or that you should trust Him, but focus on, become myopic about stewarding, be a steward of the road God called you for.

In other words, stay in your lane. Be Joshua. Be bold. Have courage.

Be strong. That's number one. Number two, Satan is a thief. If you've been robbed or stolen from, you need to settle it, Satan did that. And you say, how? Well, he found a way.

Bottom line, he found a way. He is your enemy. And not only that, please don't forget this, Satan is an influencer on some level of every enemy to your life. And I would say enemies, plural.

Plural. You have more than one enemy. You have an ark enemy, Satan. He's also God's ark enemy. But you have enemies who are inspired by and influenced by him again in his role as thief. Besides being liar, killer, destroyer, he is a thief. He's responsible for those renegade thoughts. We just mentioned that war against trusting God and you stewarding the part that you have control over, trust him to do what he has control over.

And Satan is the thief who's behind the provocation that you feel to be hypersensitive on a personal level. Because we are. We all are. We all have been at some point. Don't.

Don't do that. Catch yourself. Catch yourself.

It's not wrong to be tempted this way, but you got to get better at catching yourself in it, right? As we follow the Lord and represent him, I don't care who you are, where you live, what part of the world that you have been placed in, emphasis you have been placed in the part of the world where you are. These two things apply to you. First of all, God is God. You can trust him. Satan is the thief. Never turn your back on him because he will steal what God has given you. And he will obscure the path and confuse and make muddy and cloudy your role and what your task today is. So as we pray, Father, today we see what you're saying.

See what you're saying about this current path and the future one and that you are working to engineer both and that we hear you clearly. We imitate right now Daniel who prophesied exploits. In chapter 11 of Daniel, he prophesied those who know their God will be strong and do exploits. We choose exploits over the petty or the internal. We release our faith that way today. In Jesus' name, amen. This is the role that God has for you to do exploits, to be strong and bold and courageous, and to be the fulfillment of what Amos prophesied that you are both the sower, the plowman, and the reaper.

You belong to a harvest generation, and that is a very good thing, the best of all times to be alive for sure. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support this podcast, please share it with others. Post about it on social media or leave a rating and review. Don't forget to check out the show notes or visit acleartrumpet.org where you can subscribe to Shirley's email list. Download the ministry app and purchase your very own copy of Shirley's 365-Day Devotional, Running With Horses. Thanks again, and we'll see you next time.