Reap What You Sow

Matthew 28:18-20...And JESUS came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

We are to go and evangelize…we evangelize…YEA!!! Do we know how to evangelize? Do we know how to disciple? Do we know how to preach? Ok, the last 2 are messages for other days…or maybe a seminar.

What does Evangelize mean? According to the Cambridge English Dictionary... to talk about how good you think something is, to try to persuade people to become Christians.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says that TO evangelize is the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ.

<<EXPAND>> We are ambassadors for CHRIST!!!

So, we have to tell others about what JESUS did for us BEFORE we decided to be Born again, when we decided to accept HIM as our LORD AND SAVOIR, and after we became Born Again. WE know this yet we do let opportunities go by sometimes, when we set them. They are all around us and we don’t see them. How do we get the good news out?

BE BOLD…we know who we are and who we are in CHRIST. We know what we have and how we chose it. WE are Sons and Daughters of the Living GOD!!! We should get up each morning, thank GOD for another day and to be a child of GOD. We are so loved that we cannot fathom or measure it.

WALK IN VICTORY…Romans 8:31 says...What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? We fear GOD, or we fear what life would be without HIM loving and taking care of us. HIS promises of protection, being provided for, are in the our minds. HE knows what is best for us. HE knows our path, our lives…our walk. How.can we not walk in victory?

<<EXPAND>> All we are is from GOD, all we have is from GOD. These need no explanation, just digestion.

BE THE WITNESS… what does a witness do? A witness gives evidence or proof, of an event or events. So, with that in mind, we are to give evidence and proof of what GOD has done for us. Why we love and chose JESUS as our LORD and Savior, needs to be explained.

<<EXPAND>> How did you come to CHRIST? What were you doing or not doing, that made you seek help from JESUS? Why do you believe in HIM? What did you get from HIM? These are all what we should all tell people. So, when they get there or are there, they can understand.

BE THE EXAMPLE…Ephesians 5:1-2...Therefore be imitators of GOD, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave HIMSELF up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Did you wake up this morning and think that you are going to be something that is a fragrant aroma for GOD? Well, if you are imitators of CHRIST, you are and will be. What does that mean? Well, we are not sinless and we make mistakes. So how do we imitate CHRIST? Let’s read on in Ephesians 5:3-5...But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and GOD.

Got it? So, nothing worldly.

<<EXPAND>>

BEING FRUITFUL…the fruit of the Spirit, as told in Galatians 5:22-23...But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

We can only learn these from our GOD. Showing these to everyone is showing JESUS, who HE is, and what HE”S about. Are we all loving? Peaceful? Patient? Kind? Good? Faithful? Gentle? Have self-control? No, but we can get better at being as the scripture says. How? Dive into scripture head first.

<<EXPAND>> It’s arduous to do this , some say. It’s hard to read. I know, as we’re all different. Some may have a physical issue about reading like an astigmatism. FIGHT IT!!! WE can o all thigs through CHRIST who strengthens us.

We reap what we sow…a catchy Christian saying. But it is true in all that we do. Lets read Luke 8:5-8...“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up. “Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. “Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. “Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

JESUS is explaining all that we heard earlier. As we walk our walk, we reap what we sow.

<<EXPAND>> How we speak when out and about, at parties, even at family functions, how we are seen, is sowing. Lets read on…Luke 8:9-15...His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND. Sounds like us, doesn’t it? when we’re not putting CHRIST first in our minds and hearts, we may not see what JESUS has for us.

“Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

We know what the great commandment is. Doing it everyday, all the time, may seem really hard. If you learn to live it and work you hardest to do so, it’ll come naturally. Sometimes we’ll be completely broken all the way down in certain ways, financially, emotionally, mentally…but JESUS will meet you where you are, and you’ll learn to trust HIM. We don’t all have the same path to JESUS, but we all have the same way to GOD.

Let’s pray...

After the closing song...

We never really think that everything that we do is sowing…but it is. I hope this clears things up a bit and gives you something to think about. In reality, we all have to work on these.

There are 4 ways we will be perceived in this world:

OPTIMISTIC - the glass is half full

PESSIMISTIC - the glass is half empty

REALISTIC - the water spilled and now there’s only half left

Christian - We have a glass, JESUS is holding it so we don’t drop it, and, with JESUS” help, it will get filled in GODS time.

Pray out...