The Harvest

Blog #84 March 30, 2024

Proverbs 10:5 He that gathereth in summer is a wise son; but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

To those seeking Zion, this passage from The Proverbs of Solomon should catch our eye. We have chosen to be part of a labor with God and it speaks to the desires of our heart and how involved we need to be for our labor to be successful.

DC 4:1c-2a
4:1c therefore, if ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work, for, behold, the field is white already to harvest,
4:1d and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perish not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;
4:1e and faith, hope, charity, and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualifies him for the work.
4:2a Remember, faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.
4:2b Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.

Both Proverbs 10:5 and DC 4:1c could be termed our “Call-to-Arms”, for we who seek the Kingdom are born to the harvest. It is wisdom to seek out in full the rudiments of our covenant labor. The list of requirements in verses DC 4:1e and 2a are attitudes and talents we must possess that we might complete all that is to be done. Look to yourself and see if you possess any or all of these attributes. If you find yourself lacking, look to verse DC 4:2b. There you will find direction. If you don’t know, ask. If you feel lost and alone seek. If there is a door between you and the Spirit, knock and the door will swing wide open. Brothers and sisters trust the promises God makes here. Believe it enough to try it and have the faith to use the direction offered. God wants us to labor with Him, but we must want it enough to include Him in the task.

2 Nephi 14:5-6
14:5 Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye can not understand them, it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.
14:6 For behold, again I say unto you, that if ye will enter in by the way and receive the Holy Ghost, it will shew unto you all things what ye should do.
Again, it is our choice. If we choose to sit and watch the harvest, God will allow it, but if we seek His guidance, it is waiting for us in the form of the Holy Spirit. Why would we let doubt and fear keep us from the Kingdom we desire? Ask yourself that question and let God prepare you for the answer you will receive.

Proverbs 10:6-8
10:6 Blessings are upon the head of the just; but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
10:7 The memory of the just is blessed; but the name of the wicked shall rot.
10:8 The wise in heart will receive commandments; but a prating fool shall fall.

As we grow in God’s ways we find the wisdom of God in direct contradiction to the lust of man. The wicked fail to accept God and His ways as a maxim for life. They choose instead to recognize the love of God in others as frailty that can easily be overcome. Devoid of any humility, they prey on the weak and the helpless. Their ability to spread doubt and fear cause them to appear to be a people of great power worthy of much respect and causes others to see fear as the greatest motivator within the heart of man. In truth that which nurtures and sustains us is the trust we have in the ways of God and the strength of faith it creates within us. Faith is what allows us to overcome our fear and move forward.

Psalms 36:1-4
36:1 The wicked, who live in transgression, saith in their hearts, There is no condemnation; for there is no fear of God before their eyes.
36:2 For they flatter themselves in their own eyes, until their iniquities are found to be hateful.
36:3 The words of their mouth are full of iniquity and deceit. The wicked man hath left off to be wise, and to do good;
36:4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good.

This misdirected attitude has so plagued the world that even the righteous man is tempted to gauge his efforts as if fear was His motivation. The world wants us to fear God because they do. They just don't understand how you cannot fear a deity that can both create and destroy with a word. They mistakenly assume that like humanity, God revels in the glory of absolute power. They refuse to believe that as a loving Father, God revels in watching us grow in our choice to make His ways our own. They just don't understand.

John 14:15-17
14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;
14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

What Christ does tell us about true obedience is that it requires our humility to and trust in God's Holy Spirit. Brethren, repeatedly God makes it known to us that without the Spirit even our complete devotion and diligence to this labor will fail. But, when we choose to open our hearts to both God and His Spirit through the sacrifice of Jesus

Christ, the Kingdom of God will come and the testimony of God at work in the lives of His children will be alive in the world.

Genesis 6:35-36
6:35 Say unto this people, choose ye this day to serve the Lord God who made you. 
6:36 Behold, my Spirit is upon you; wherefore all thy words will I justify, and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.

Understand truly the awesome authority in the teachings of God's Holy Spirit. By our earthly nature we are a rebellious prideful creatures filled with nothing more than the will to survive. The Spirit seeks to change that very nature to righteousness through a unity of oneness with the Father. Please don't make the mistake of thinking that Moses, Elijah, or the Apostle Paul produced the miracles that were part of their ministries. In true oneness with God, He is free to work through us. We are to be His hands in the world reaching out to those who need. We are to be His voice in the world spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom to all that will listen.

Proverbs 10:6-8
10:6 Blessings are upon the head of the just; but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
10:7 The memory of the just is blessed; but the name of the wicked shall rot.
10:8 The wise in heart will receive commandments; but a prating fool shall fall.

As we revisit this passage from Proverbs look to verse 6 and determine whether the blessings on the head of the just were a cause for righteousness or a reward. If the blessings of God caused the righteousness then those same blessings were responsible for the blessed memories. Ask yourself if the ability to receive commandments is a cause for wisdom or the result of wisdom already in the heart. These puzzles might look minor and trite if we were just seeking salvation and eternal life, but we of the Kingdom seek more. We seek eternal reconciliation with God and we must understand that all righteousness begins and ends in God.

1Corinthians 1:25-31
1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are chosen;
1:27 For God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are mighty;
1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption;
1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

The glory always belongs to God. Even the slightest deviation from that truth is not righteousness. God is truth. God is righteousness. God is strength. We receive from Him all that we need through the Spirit, but He is the source. If we ignore that source, whatever we achieve will not be the Kingdom. We in and of ourselves can never be the standard for righteousness or the dividing line between iniquity and virtue. God is the source. God is the standard. God is the boundary between good and evil. We must adhere to this line of thinking or we will be tempted in the same ways Eve was.

Genesis 3:9-11
3:9 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which thou beholdest in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
3:10 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
3:11 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it became pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make her wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.

Proverbs 10:6-8
10:6 Blessings are upon the head of the just; but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
10:7 The memory of the just is blessed; but the name of the wicked shall rot.
10:8 The wise in heart will receive commandments; but a prating fool shall fall.

Filled with a full measure of faith these concepts seem to be obvious to the point of being mundane, but to ignore or question their necessity is risky. The difference between the righteous and the wicked is a decision that is too often based on belief that man's judgment is equal in wisdom to God's. Reverence to God is more than just a matter of respect. It is an unquestionable truth. When we allow that truth to guide us we will hunger for more and more undeniable testimonies of truth. This is the growth we seek, because any growth founded upon a quest for the truth of God, will surely bring us to His Kingdom.

2 Nephi 13:27-29
13:27 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask, if all is done?
13:28 Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far, save it were by the word of Christ, with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save;
13:29 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.

Psalms 15:1-5
15:1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in they holy hill of Zion? 15:2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
15:3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.
15:4 In whose eyes a vile person is condemned; but he honoreth them that fear the Lord; sweareth not falsely to hurt any man, and changeth not.
15:5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

Our labor for God begins with our willingness to walk uprightly before God and man, but it is so much more. It requires that we turn away from all that the world teaches us and become one with God and His ways. It requires much of a man and in truth; it is beyond the strength of man. Our hope lays in our ability to reach out to the Father and humble ourselves to His love.
Micah 6:8 He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
In this, we will truly become His children. His ways will become our ways, we will be known for the God we love, and we will walk uprightly bearing His name. To walk without God is to fail and fall short of the Kingdom. In that, we pervert the ways of God. In that prideful walk, we will be known, but we will not be known as His children.

Romans 1:21-25
1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were they thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, through the lusts of their own hearts; to dishonor their own bodies between themselves;
1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

It is my fear that organized Christendom in the world today has fallen into that pride filled age-old trap. Repent in our own hearts and pray that we find our way out of the deep, deep hole we have dug for ourselves. Is it hopeless? Not when we are following God.

Psalms 31:24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Join in with the harvest.
Grab a handful of hope, stuff it in you pocket, and keep on walking toward God.

FRED