"As long as the earth remains, cold and heat, day and night, seed, time and harvest will remain."
"God is not mocked, what you sow, you shall surely reap."
"He who sows sparingly, shall reap also sparingly. And he who sows bountifully, shall reap also bountifully."
"The Kingdom of God is likened unto a seed."

The parable of the sower is the mother of all parables. "Be not weary in well doing for you shall reap in due season, IF you faint not."

Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness (2 Cor. 9:10 KJV)

Seedtime and harvest is a law. There is no harvest without seed and there is no harvest unless the seed is sown. And the seed cannot be sown without a sower.

This is a law with three parts. God gives the seed to the sower. The sower receives it with understanding. He knows it is a seed for sowing. He understands that it is not his harvest. He then sows the seed and expects a harvest after it has had time to do what it needs to do.

This may seem very simple on the surface. But it may not be as simple as you think. What is a seed? What does it mean to sow? Who is a sower? And how do you sow?

In the Kingdom of God, and in any other realm or discipline, it is wise to be sure that you understand the rules, terminology and nomenclature. It is also wise to assume nothing. Research everything. Challenge your assumptions, presumptions, paradigms and perspectives. I know that it is hard work, but it is work that you will never regret once it becomes a habit.

It is interesting to note that when you begin to search out the meaning of the word "seed" that you are given the definition of the act of sowing itself. It even flows immediately to conception and pregnancy. It is as if seed is never even thought of as an end in itself. It is seed only when it is actively moving toward the end: pregnancy, germination then birth or harvest.

In order to be part of this process, the sower, who is called a sower because of his understanding of the process, must have the revelation of the nature of seed.

I happen to love the verse in Acts 26 where Paul is telling the story of his conversion to King Agrippa. He says that "The Lord speaks to him in the Hebrew tongue." This is the language He chooses to speak. This is the language He chose to record the rest of the scriptures in.

If we desire to really know Him and to pursue Him, a good place to start is in the meditation of the Hebrew root of words that are important to the rules that we live by. When things aren't working, go to the root. Understanding the root is next in importance to understanding the seed.

It would stand to reason that a sower who has no understanding of or respect for his or her seed, and no knowledge of or reason to care for the root, will not reap a good or consistent harvest. Without this understanding, one is not a sower.

A doctor is someone who has gone through school to study the many details of the human body and earns the right to be called a doctor. A lawyer must study the law and earn the right to be called a lawyer. It would follow then that a sower is someone who has a working understanding of seeds, roots, plants and harvest.

He would know how to care for them throughout the process, seeing himself as an active part of the process and somehow connected and obligated to perpetuate the divine system. Without this understanding, he may sow seed, but he is not, by definition a sower.

When I feel an ache or a pain in my body, I make adjustments in my lifestyle to address that malady - in short, I self-medicate. This doesn't make me a doctor. When I have a disagreement with a business associate or a government agency, I may cite the law in a letter disputing a claim. This does not make me a lawyer. In the same vein, just sowing seeds in an uneducated and unprofessional manner does not make me a sower. And remember, seed is given to the sower (2 Cor. 9:10).

Let us refer back to our four questions.

What is Seed?
Seed is a fertilized and ripened egg cell of a plant, capable of sprouting to produce a new plant. The word seed is also used figuratively in the Bible to express several important truths. It even refers to human descendants or offspring (Gen. 21:12).

The apostle Paul explained that the seed of Abraham not only referred to his physical descendants, "but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham" (Rom. 4:16). In Galatians 3:16, Paul went even further, stating that Abraham's seed is Jesus Christ rather than the nation of Israel.

Jesus often used the imagery of seeds in His parables. In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, He told three different parables involving seeds: the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:3-9, 18-33), the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43), and the parable of the mustard seed (Matt. 13:31-32). He compared His own death and resurrection in a figurative sense to the sowing of seeds (John 12:24).

Taken from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary - Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers

What Does it Mean to Sow?
SOW, TO
A. Verb. Zara` ^2232^, "to sow, scatter seed, make pregnant."

Common throughout the history of the Hebrew language, this root is found in various Semitic languages, including ancient Akkadian. The verb is found approximately 60 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. It occurs first in Genesis 1:29, in the summary of the blessings of creation which God has given to mankind: "…in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed...."

A good example of the need for free translation of the inherent meaning rather than a strictly literal rendering involves zara`, in both its verb and noun forms. This is found in Numbers chapter five, which describes the law of trial by ordeal in the case of a wife accused of infidelity.

If she was found innocent, it was declared: "...she shall be free, and shall conceive [zara`] seed [zera`]" (Num. 5:28). This phrase is literally: "She shall be acquitted and shall be seeded seed," or "She shall be made pregnant with seed."

B. Noun. Zera` ^2233^, "seed; sowing; seedtime; harvest; offspring; descendant(s); posterity."

This word occurs about 228 times in biblical Hebrew and in all periods. It has cognates in Aramaic, Phoenician, Arabic, Ethiopic, and Akkadian.

Who is a Sower and How Does He Sow?
Simply put, the sower sows seed and reaps a consistent harvest. This may seem like an elementary statement but it is not. Find someone who sows seed in the Kingdom of God and study their ways. This is the way to spiritual mastery and fulfillment.

Even sowers and great men and women of the faith don't have complete head knowledge as to why they reap consistent harvests. This is why you have to study their lifestyles and their daily habits as well as what they say. Sowers are trained more than taught. They are mentored and cultivated. You can't just read a "how to" book and become a true producer in the Kingdom of God.

The seed, the sower, the ground, the root and the harvest are all linked. But I don't have the space to do all of your homework here in this article. I wish that I did. I am grieved often times in my spirit by the level of desire that is apparently in the Body of Christ for a deeper knowledge of His way and Himself.

I would even encourage you to come and be a part of our weekly teachings in these areas. It is important for you to understand what you are doing and that you have a full revelation. It is not enough to simply mimic another fallible human being. Paul said follow me as I follow Christ.

What this means is that you must do as Paul did. He did much more than write the letters that we love. He prayed. He fasted. He obeyed. He studied and he spoke boldly. He suffered persecutions and he contended courageously for the faith. He lived his life in pursuit of Christ. Hence, "Follow me as I follow Christ." Remember, and think on this, Christ is the seed.

I love you with the love of the Lord and I hope that I have caused a thirst for knowledge and revelation to spring up stronger than ever before. It is my prayer that I will see generations of people capable of calling things that be not as though they were. These people will be masters over self and sin and they will have dominion over all that they have been given.

All of their needs will be met according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. They will take their place as sons of the Most High God and they will act like it, and live like it. As they lift up the name of Jesus through active use and revelation, they will draw all men unto that Name which cannot be separated from the person, for they are one and the same.

I know that this is far from light reading. Please bear with me. It is my desire that you come off the milk and move to the meat and become a teacher yourself. It is time that all people in the Body begin to bear fruit, not just a dedicated few.