Sermon Tone Analysis

*Sow for yourselves righteousness.

*

 

How do I bring myself to do the right thing when everyone else seems to be getting ahead by doing the wrong thing

 

Difficult to plant certain things because we know that the yield is modest and slow.

I remember the first time that I was faced with the prospect of purchasing life insurance.

It seemed so ridiculous to spend money that I needed now for something that I might be able to secure later.

There are certain things in life that we know we are going to need and we know that we could need them at any time but we want to push them as far away as we can from the present moment.

There are young folks here today who believe as much as the most saintly person that they will stand before God someday and they hope to be able to stand confidently before God but they are not interested in planting righteousness today.

It’s not exciting.

It doesn’t appeal to human appetites and desires.

They worry that they might miss out on something that they should be experiencing.

The same sort of thing carries on into adulthood.

We don’t do what we know we should do.

It is not applauded by our society.

There is nothing newsworthy about it.

Nice guys finish last.

You are most likely to be taken advantage of.

What do I get out of it in this world?

Is there anything of value to be gained by playing the game of life according to God’s design or His rules?

q      There is a pay off in this life.

If we persevere we will outdistance others in one way or another.

God may choose to display a variety of things in our lives.

His blessing.

His faithfulness.

His sufficiency.

It’s like playing the game with more restrictive rules that work against me.

Playing tennis – I have to hit in the more restrictive singles court while my opponent gets to use the more generous doubles court.

*Reap the fruit of unfailing love.*

You can have your reward now or later.

Delayed gratification is a wonderful discipline.

There are times when the harvest alone reveals the difference between the plants.

They grow together until the time of harvest.

Ultimately God will reward.

If we do the right things now we will get what we want later.

Natural laws.

Certain things I will enjoy more at a point in my life where I am ready to

 

 

 

!

*Break up your unplowed ground*

 

There are areas of our lives that we have never opened to God’s cultivating work in our lives.

The back 40.

! *It is time to seek the Lord until He comes*