Part 10 - The Law of the Harvest
Notes
Transcript
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Introduction
Introduction
A law is something that will definitely happen, and we are given a law in this text tonight.
One this earth, we have the law of gravity…What goes up, must come down. Our laws of science typically have very few exceptions, but this law found in the Bible does not…According to the verses I’ve read tonight, we WILL reap what we sow.
Here’s what’s exciting about this law…It gives us confidence that we will see fruit for our labor if we faint not...
This law isn’t just exciting, but it’s also challenging because it teaches us on the flip side of what I just said, we will reap consequences for sowing bad seeds.
You know that we choose which seeds to sow?!
We can sow good seeds and reap a harvest, or we can sow bad seeds and reap the consequences…The choice is ours.
Tonight, I want to share with you three laws concerning the harvest…(1) You Reap What You Sow, (2) You Reap later Than You Sow, and (3) You Reap More Than You Sow...
I-You Reap What You Sow
I-You Reap What You Sow
Let me give a real simple illustration right here…If you plant tomato seeds in your garden, you’re not surprised when tomatoes start growing, right? You don’t except watermelon to come out of the tomato seed you planted. Then again, you might be like me and you’re just surprised if anything grows that you plant.
Here’s the point, you reap whatever fruit or vegetable of whatever seed you planted.
Galatians 6:7 (KJV 1900)
7 ...whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
We reap what we sow, therefore:
We need to see our thoughts, words, and actions as seeds!
We are planting seeds at every moment of every day.
Every thought that pops up in your mind plays a role in molding your character and it’s a seed that is sown and will eventually mature.
What does the Bible tell us about thoughts?
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
We need to look at our thoughts being seeds, but also, we need to view our words as seeds…The words we say are very powerful!
4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Our words have the power to build up or tear down! Our words can make a difference in someone else’s life!
Never take the words you speak to others lightly…Every, single word we say is a seed planted.
So, we see our thoughts and words are seeds, but also our actions are seeds:
3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Beholding the evil and the good.
Your actions matter, whether or not others notice them…God notices them! He always sees what we do, good or evil...
Stephen Covey summed this up so well, he wrote, “Sow a thought, reap and action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”
Every day of our lives, the flesh wakes up and says, “I’ve got some stuff I want to plant in the garden.” But the spirit also says, “I have seeds to plant in the garden.”
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Every day, there is a battle...
If you want the spiritual man to plant the sees, you have to purpose in your heart that you will allow Him to…How do we do that?
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
II-You Reap Later Than You Sow
II-You Reap Later Than You Sow
While we always reap what we sow, we usually have to wait to see the harvest. It doesn’t come overnight. So, we can say that we reap LATER than we sow.
Because of this,
Don’t be deceived by delayed judgment.
Ecclesiastes has some words about this:
10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.
11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
This passage of Scripture makes it clear that the wicked do not escape their judgment.
God sees every action we commit, He hears every word we say, and He knows each thought we think. That should be a sobering thought you know?
Galatians 6:7 (KJV 1900)
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked...
When we try to beat the obvious in our lives, we are trying to fool God. But you do not mock God like that without paying a price you cannot afford to pay. God is no fool. He is not mocked by our trying to beat his principles of life.
That’s why we are told be not deceived…it’s not God who is being fooled, it’s ourselves!
Because we reap later than we sow, don’t be deceived by delayed judgment, but also, don’t be discouraged by present barrenness.
Just as we ultimately reap the consequences for wrong actions, so you will sow the blessings from godly actions.
Whatever it is that you’re doing for the Lord, whether anyone knows about it or not, GOD SEES YOU!
If your’e here today feeling like your service for Christ has not made a difference, and believe you me, we get that way sometimes, listen to these words:
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
We will reap the blessings from sowing the right seeds, but don’t expect immediate results! It may even take an entire lifetime! But don’t be discouraged! It’s a promise from God!
Because we reap later than we sow, don’t be deceived by delayed judgment, don’t be discouraged by present barrenness, and don’t be distracted by immediate pleasures!
Dr. Bob Jones Sr. said, “Don’t sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.”
You were born to do more than pay bills and die!
What a tragedy to miss out on the blessings of God! How sad would it be if we chose immediate gratification over eternal rewards in Heaven. Many are doing that in our day!
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
God has great and mighty plans for us! He has specific ways He wants to use us! The only thing stopping God from using you is YOU!
The choice is ours to make, will we let God use us the way He wants to? Or will we be distracted by the temporary?
We reap what we sow, we reap later than we so, and thirdly:
III-You Reap More Than You Sow
III-You Reap More Than You Sow
You think about it. In the garden of your heart, there is plenty of room for fruit to grow.
And when you’re planting, you always begin with a little biddy seed, that always turns into something bigger than itself.
Hosea 8:7 (KJV 1900)
7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: ...
This goes both ways, good or bad...
Here’s the thing…As you faithfully plant seeds, you may be surprised by how much you ultimately reap someday!
Take every opportunity to plant good seeds!
Imagine the consequences of every seed!
If you memorize this passage of Scripture and dwell on it, more than likely, it’ll cause you to think before you explode in anger or react in another negative manner.
For every seed you sow - every thought you think, every word you say, and every action you do - think about consequences.
Now, here’s another angle to take on this…consider the consequences of NOT sowing seeds at all! - We have a lot of people like that! They simply aren’t doing anything.
You won’t reap anything if you’re not sowing anything! Tomatoes aren’t going to pop up in the backyard when you don’t first plant tomato seeds!
Take every opportunity to plant good seeds, Imagine the consequences of those seeds, and Don’t quit on any good seed.
As you sow the seeds God has asked you to sow, don’t quit!
As you faithfully plant good seeds in your life, remember these words:
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This is the law of the harvest: you reap what you sow, you reap later than you sow, and you reap more than you sow...
This was true in Biblical days, and it’s still true today.
What kind of seeds are you sowing?