Sowing and Reaping

When everything went crazy in 2020, I decided I would be a gardener.

First time I planted, I researched a ton.

Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Peppers — It was awesome!

Second season, was horrible. I researched a ton, but my garden struggled.

I made raised beds and tried to grow stuff again. Again, it was okay, not great, but okay.

I decided I would start my own seeds and then plant them, yeah. That was horrible.

I learned that gardening was difficult. First season, Jesus was secretly making my garden awesome to make me feel better. After that, He let me see that I had no idea what I was doing.

I was fighting weeds, soil issues, cats using my garden as their bathroom, etc…

I think we get this way in our walk with Christ too. We’re trying all kinds of things to make ourselves more holy, but honestly we’re not really sure what we’re doing.

Or we’re not happy with we see in our life, but if we’re honest, we’re not really trying to grow. We just expect God to magically make us live a holy life. And it doesn’t work that way.

Galatians 6:7-9

Paul wrote the book of Galatians to deal with two issues.

Works-based salvation: Laws, feasts, rituals, circumcission, etc…

Division in the church from those swinging so far to the left they’re not even trying to live holy at all.

Paul’s Balance View of the Gospel

Salvation is by faith alone…

But it will not show up in faith alone, but in a faith that works.

Paul was not arguing for a profession only faith, but a faith that bears fruit.

Our text this morning serves as a caution and an instruction.

Galatians 6:7–9 “7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 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. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

What you sow in private will show up in public.

v. 7 — Whatever one sows, that will he also reap…

If you plant apples, don’t expect blueberries

If you plant nothing, don’t expect something

If you don’t like what you see in your life, it is your fault

You don’t care.

You’re not using the tools that God gave you. (sunglasses and hat)

“God is not mocked” - Some will tell you that you can go against God’s Word and live however you want to. The Bible is just a bunch of religious mumbo jumbo.

You live against God’s Word, you are going to reap the opposite of God’s blessings. You’re going to get the natural consequences of your action.

Illustration: If a ship is sinking and I throw you a life jacket and you decide not to wear it, whose fault is it when you drown? If I tell you to come with me and get in a storm shelter when a tornado is coming, and you don’t listen to me, but you stay outside in the storm, whose fault is it when you get sucked up by the nader?

v. 8 — flesh gets corruption…the Spirit gets life…

What you’re sowing is what you’re spending your time with.

Are you spending time with things of the flesh or things of the Spirit.

What are you listening to, reading, watching, scrolling through, etc…

You received anywhere from 500-10,000 messages a day depending on how much time you spend on your phone or streaming something.

If you spend 1-2 hours with Jesus on Sunday and here maybe 10 specific messages that God has for you, but you spend the rest of the week with over 10,000 messages coming through to you, which part of you is getting fed more.

It’s not so much about quantity but quality right? Those 10,000 messages throughout the week are going to be all over the place. Many will be political, many will be divisive, many will be sinful and inappropriate. But they’ll be short and sporadic.

If you take time each day to sit with God in His Word and spend time in prayer with Him, you’re going to take 1-2 messages from God and revisit them throughout the day. That’s going to make His message louder than a 1,000 others.

What kind of seed are you sowing in your life each day? Ask yourself every morning what kind of seed am I going to saw in my life today?

Psalm 143:8 “8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

Tend to the soil of your heart first every day. Plant seeds of righteousness by spending time with God. Water those seeds by keeping your mind on God throughout the day.

Your harvest follows your habits.

v. 9 — Don’t grow weary of doing good…don’t stop what you’re doing. It’s going to take time to see fruit.

You don’t throw a seed in the ground, water it one time, and boom — you’ve got a healthy plant with fruit all over the place.

Growth takes time. Growth takes patience. And growth takes dedication — “If we do not give up…”

You only reap if you keep working at it. If I plant something and start to see a little sprout come out of the ground and then stop, then it’s not going to keep growing for long. Not without the grace of God.

Lead and Lag measures — Lag measures are results or issues, Lead measures are what you do to cause the results, or what you did that caused the issues.

In growing in our walk, lead measures are the spiritual disciplines or habits that we implement into our lives.

Reading and engaging the Bible, praying, attending church, holding others accountable and being held accountable by someone else, confessing sin, sharing the Gospel, etc… These are just a few of the habits that should be present in the life of a follower of Christ.

Out of all of those, there is one lead measure that actually influences all the other lead measures — Bible engagement. The more you engage the Bible, the more you are inclined to pray, attend church, create accountable relationships, confess sin, share the Gospel, etc…

That is why I emphasize that habit so much. If you get this one thing right, the others will follow.

Conclusion: You can only reap because of the sacrifice that Jesus sowed.

Are you sowing in the sacrifice that Jesus has made for you?

Have you reaped the salvation that came from His sacrifice?

Are you reaping righteousness or sinfulness?

What you’re sowing in private is what is showing up in public?