"7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. 11 See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!"
Good Morning Beloved,
Welcome to worship this Lord's Day!
We're so glad to have you here with us.
Each choice that you make brings with it a consequence. If you make
wise, God honoring choices then you will experience positive
consequences. In contrast, if you make sinful, disobedient choices then you will
experience chastisement or negative consequences. Therefore, every thought, attitude or action has its own natural reproductive
cycle. What you reap, you shall also sow. If you sow what is bad, rest assured, you will reap what
is bad, if you sow what is good, so shall you will reap what is good.
In modern philosophy, this is often called "the law of attraction." In other circles, it is frequently referred to as "karma." However, this has long before been a Scriptural teaching in the Word of God, "You reap what you sow." In others words, you will eventually face the consequences of your actions. You cannot escape it.
Let us bow our heads in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for this Word, for the clear teaching of sowing in righteousness, sowing in the Spirit, to sow good deeds. Thank You for this great reminder. Lord, we know that sowing in the flesh is death and corruption, and that sowing in the Spirit is eternal and everlasting.
Lord, we know that there are many who claim Christ, who are still sowing in the flesh, who will reap a degenerate and corrupt life, we just pray for them, that today would be the day, they would confess and repent, that they would turn away from these things and be cleansed.
Father, we also pray for those who have never known Christ, as their Lord and Savior, that You would reach down, touch their hearts, open their eyes and ears, do a mighty work in them, that today would be that day of repentance, turning away from sin and receive Your Son, Jesus Christ.
We ask this in Jesus' name
Amen
Today's Message: You Will Reap What You Sow
Sowing and Reaping have both positive and negative connotations. In other words, if you sow good things, you will reap good things! If you sow honesty, you will reap trust. If you sow goodness, you will reap friends. If you sow humility, you will reap greatness. If you sow perseverance, you will reap victory. If you sow consideration, you will reap harmony. If you sow hard work, you will reap success. If you sow forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation. If you sow openness, you will reap intimacy. If you sow faith, you will reap miracles
However, on the other hand, if you sow bad things, you will reap bad things. Therefore, if you sow dishonesty, you will reap distrust. If you sow selfishness, you will reap loneliness. If you sow pride, you will reap destruction. If you sow jealousy, you will reap trouble. If you sow laziness, you will reap stagnation. If you sow bitterness, you will reap isolation. If you sow greed, you will reap loss. If you sow gossip, you will reap enemies. And, if you sow worries, you will reap wrinkles. If you sow in the flesh, you will reap corruption. If you sow sin, you will reap consequences.
I would like to suggest to you, that it is imperative that we sow the right seeds! Because not only will you reap what you sow, but that you will reap more than you sow! For example, a farmer who plants a single kernel of corn. That one kernel has the potential to
produce a stalk with several ears, that contain many kernels of corn. Therefore, increasing the potential for many more and more stalks of corn, and again, even more kernels of corn.
So, with that in mind, I ask that you would open with me your Bibles, to the sixth chapter in the book of Galatians, as we take a closer look at verses 7 through 11. I invite you to follow along with me as I read, to get this marvelous text set in our minds. I believe that we will be richly blessed by it's teaching. Galatians 6:7-11.
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap. For
the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh,
but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the
Spirit. Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!"
James Dwight Dana was the pre-eminent U.S. geologist, mineralogist, volcanologist, and zoologist of his time, addressed a graduating class at Yale University with these words, he
said, "Young men, as you face scientific problems, remember that I, an
old man, who have known only science all my life, say to you there is
nothing truer in the universe than the scientific statements in the Word
of God."
Job 26:7-11 says, "He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. He wraps up the waters in His clouds, and the cloud does not burst under them. He obscures the face of the full moon and spreads His cloud over it. He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters at the boundary of light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble and are amazed at His rebuke."
Looking back at verse 6,"The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him." The principle of reciprocity is certainly being taught here. Though the
initial thought is that their ministers should have a material return
for what they spiritually sow in the life of the believers the principle
extends beyond that area. The creation precept or the spiritual law
built into the very fabric of all creation, both physical and spiritual,
is that a person reaps after the same manner and nature that they sow.
And since a disproportionate portion of the load of bearing the burdens of
others falls on the ministers in the caring for and instructing the
church, verse 6 instructs those taught to share with those teaching. Though there are many workers, elders in the church assigned to various
aspects, this verse is for the those whose foremost duty is
teaching the Word of God. Those who receive instruction, or katēchoumenos, in the Greek, in the Word should share all good
things with the pastor. All good things includes material
return and/or financial, remuneration to biblical teachers or
ministers.
The verb translated share, the word koinónos, is imperative, it is a command and is emphatic in the Greek text. It means to contribute to, a sharer, partner with or companion with. In other words, the benefited should benefit those who benefit them. The precept being taught is that the teacher of the Word shares
spiritual treasures and empowering and those who are taught ought to
share material substance and support in return. It is
easy to take spiritual leaders for granted, ignoring their financial,
emotional and physical needs. They should be supported and cared for,
not begrudgingly or reluctantly but with a generous spirit showing honor
and appreciation for all they have done.
In verses 7 and 8, which states the spiritual principle that lies behind the
precept in verse 6. The command to give is not simply so that pastors,
missionaries, and teachers might have their needs met
but that the givers might invest for a greater blessings.
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit."
In every dimension, including the moral and spiritual, the universe is structured on inexorable laws. The teaching of verse 7, the Bible uses a well-known law of botany. In that a given seed can
reproduce only its own kind, to illustrate God’s parallel and equally
inviolable laws in the moral and spiritual realms. "Do not be deceived,
God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." The elaboration of verse 6 first comes with a solemn warning that God is not mocked.
The word used in the Greek, muktērizetai, means to sneer at, or turn up the nose at. In other words, to treat with contempt. The principal thought is don’t deceive yourself into thinking you
can sow wrongly and escape the results of your wrong sowing. For a
Christian to sin while thinking he is somehow immune from God’s standard
of holiness is to mock the Lord and to mimic the world. While you may find
forgiveness but God does not wipe out the earthy consequences of your
actions. Some because they have not suffered evil consequences for
living according to their fleshly desires assume they are getting away
with it. They let the devil deceive them into thinking that either God
does not care, God is not holy or will not punish them. The principle is that you can not mock
God nor His natural, moral or spiritual laws and do so with impunity.
This principle created into the very fabric of the physical and
spiritual world is what ever a man sows, this he will also reap. God
does not operate His realm by a whim or capriciously. How else would the
farmer know when or what to plant in order to get the desire result. The
farmer knows when and what to plant, to get what he wants, because he
looks to the end before beginning.
What is sown is what is reaped is how God established His physical and spiritual world. What a person sows will result in blessing or judgment for God is not a deity who does not fulfill His laws or who reverses His laws. God’s laws are not mocked by mankind’s attempts to ignore the cause and effect relationship of justice nor is God tricked into bestowing blessing instead of due judgment. You cannot sow wrongly and escape the results of wrong sowing. The corollary is also true. You cannot sow rightly and not reap its rewards. How foolish is the person who thinks he can get around the divine law of sowing and reaping!
Beloved, if you are engaging in sinful practices and are living for the things of this world, you cannot and will not, avoid the natural consequences of your actions! I urge you to listen again to that Biblical warning: "Do not be deceived, ...for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." The cost of living may go up or down, but the cost of sowing remains the same. What is true in the natural realm is just as true in the moral and spiritual realm. You cannot sow indulgence and reap health. You cannot sow strife and reap peace. You cannot sow sin and reap righteousness. You cannot sow "the works of flesh" and reap "the Fruit of the Spirit."
In the fall of 1997, Dr. John Rose and his research team at Yale Medical School had began an experiment that potentially has far-reaching potential for fighting disease. The experiment had successfully altered the genes of a virus that normally infects livestock and turned it into a virus that specifically and exclusively attacks AIDS-infected cells and destroys them. In other words, they created "smart bombs" out of a virus. They used infection to fight against infection. The experiments were successful in the test tube, however, had yet to be tried on animals or humans.Just
as viruses can be designed to kill viruses, one of the ways God judges
evil is to withdraw His protection and allow evil to come against what
is evil. This further truth that causes one either to rejoice or cringe, is that
we not only reap in like kind, but we reap more in quantity than what we
sow. Not only does corn yield corn but one seed of corn reaps scores of
like grains. This principle of multiplication may be why the final
judgment comes after the end of the age and not right after physical
death. Judgment cannot be rendered until all the evidence is in at the
end of age, when the Great White Throne is in session. For it is there they will be judged according to their deeds, and this judgment will determine the degree of punishment in Hell.
A person that commits a sin, that may seem little to themselves and society
but by the end of the age could result in millions of souls going to
hell. Therefore he cannot be properly judged concerning His punishment
until the end of the age. The opposite is also true. A seeming little
good deed done in the power of the Spirit, could set in motion a reaction
that could result in thousands of good deeds and souls trusting Jesus.
The explication for why God’s justice cannot be mocked is found in verse
8. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap
corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap
eternal life.
Ephesians 5:15-17 teaches us, "So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
Colossians 3:2 says it this way, "Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth."
Corruption and eternal life must be understood in a double sense. First
corruption comes from ones bodily sins, that every doctor will attest
to, and at the end of earthly existence in eternal destruction in Hell.
Sowing out of the Spirit reaps life and everlasting life. It is a life
which begins now and abides through out eternity. Life everlasting is
the strongest term in the Greek language to express eternity. We can
enhance the quality of our life here on earth and in eternity by
permitting the Holy Spirit to bear fruit in and through our lives.
All too often, people have the mistaken idea that Satan wants to give people
pleasure. Satan no more wants to give us pleasure than a millionaire wants to give up fortune. Satan despises us, he hates us and wants nothing more than to inflict
suffering into our lives. Satan only offers the pleasure of sin in order to
inflict later suffering and to make that suffering permanent. It’s
the way the world is, you reap what you sow. Every action has a reaction. If you plant to please your own desires you will
reap a crop of sorrow and evil. If you plant to please God, you will
reap joy and everlasting life. Another way to say it is, what goes around, comes back around.
We should therefore, all be asking ourselves, what kind of seeds are we sowing? The answer determines our harvest!
If one sows only the things of
this world, he will reap only the things of this world. If one spends
all his time sowing efforts to make money, he will make money, but
earthly reward will be the only thing he will have. He will not have
love, faith, peace, joy or communion with God. He may have the things money can buy. He will not have victory over sin, death or fear. You buy that which comes from God, it is a gracious gift.
In verse 9, Paul says "Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary."
I've known a number of Christians, who have said, "Look I've been sowing good seeds in the Spirit for a long time. When does the harvest come? Others have said, "I’m getting awfully tired of sowing, and I haven’t seen a single harvest yet."
The word used is egkakeō, it means to lose heart, become discouraged. It’s a word used of a farmer who begins to slack at his exertion because of fatigue.
I Corinthians 15:58 teaches us, "Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
You know, as Christians, we sometimes struggle with falling into spiritual laziness. So, if you’re growing tired of teaching, weary of serving the Lord, tired of
sowing when you haven’t really seen much of reaping. Then may I suggest that you ought to look at Jesus who endured.
Hebrews 12:3-4 says, " For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin."
Then in verse 10, "So then, while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith."
Paul is not telling us to, "Do good when it’s convenient." He is saying is, "You
only have a limited amount of time to do good." So, if you want to have a
great harvest, then you have to plant the seeds before it’s too late. Doing good calls for an endless field. Paul says "especially," and not "exclusively." Doing good starts in the church, but that doesn't mean it should stay in the church.
Imagine the potential fruit that could be produced if you live a life of doing good! Remember you only have a limited amount of time. But don’t limit the good you do to only a few people. Don’t grow weary. You will be rewarded for doing good.
You may never even get any type of recognition down here. There is no guarantee that you will not face danger, trouble or trials. The apostle Paul was faithful in his labor for the Lord and he was beheaded. Peter was faithful in his labor for the Lord and he was crucified upside down. James was faithful in his labor for the Lord and he was beheaded. John the Baptist was faithful in his labor for the Lord and he was beheaded. John the apostle was faithful in his labor for the Lord and he was exiled to the isle of Patmos. The remainder of the apostles were faithful in their labor and they all died as a result.
The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to add these closing words to give one
more contrast between the legalists and the Spirit-led Christians. The
Spirit-led live for the glory of Christ, not the praise of man. Motive
is what is dealt with, and the church today needs to examine the motive
for our ministries. We know what we are doing, but do we know why we are
doing it? Many a good work is ruined before God because of a bad
motive.
Paul approaches this subject in an interesting way. The legalists want to initiate people into their way of ritual through the rite of circumcision. Paul says people will do anything in the flesh so that they do not have to die to the flesh by the power of the cross. Paul understood the reasons for avoidance because of the suffering this crucified life led him to endure. But he also knew the peace and mercy of God that came from living in the Spirit.
Wanting to give added emphases to his conclusion Paul calls his readers to see the boldness of his letters. Verse 11, "See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!" It had probably been Paul’s custom to dictate his letters, then take the pen and write his own farewell. Paul did this to validate that the letter was genuine. Here he writes in large letters for emphasis, as to say don’t miss this, this is important.In Closing...
When do good deeds become showy? They become displays of egotism when
they are done to call attention to ourselves. Jesus warned about
self-serving, phony goodness that was done for show.
In Matthew 6:1-2, He said, "Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. "So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they will be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full."
Here we see what Jesus
thought about being self-serving. Obviously Jesus did not think too highly of religious people whose life was lived for show instead of for the glory of God.
In this day and age, it is easy, even for Christians, to get caught up with externals. Beware of those who emphasize actions that we should or shouldn’t do, with little concern for the inward condition of the heart. Living a good life without an inward change leads to a shallow or empty spiritual walk. What matters to God is that we be completely changed from the inside out.
May it be so...
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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