You will reap what you sow
Galatians 6:7-10
It tells the story of two Scots who immigrated to California. They wanted to have in their new home some memory of their homeland. One carried with him a thistle, the national coat of arms. The other took a swarm of bees. Years passed. Long-distance fields are cursed with thistle, which the farmer cannot get rid of. But the woods and fields are charged with the sweetness of honey. Little did those two men think about what would come out of their selections, whether for better or worse. The seemingly insignificant acts of man mean a lot to future generations.
Every choice you make brings with it a consequence. If you make wise decisions that honor God, you will experience positive consequences. If you make sinful and disobedient decisions, you will experience negative consequences. As expressed by our selected text… YOU SHALL REAP WHAT YOU SOW! – …Whatever a man sows, that will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh; But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)
Sowing and Harvesting has both positive and negative connotations.
If you sow good things, you will reap good things!
If you sow honesty, you will reap trust.
If you sow kindness, 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 effort, you will reap success.
If you sow forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.
If you sow openness, you will reap intimacy.
If you sow patience, you will reap improvement.
If you sow patience, you will reap improvement.
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If you sow faith, you will reap miracles.
If you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life
On the other hand, if you sow bad things, you will reap bad things.
If you sow dishonesty, you will reap mistrust.
If you sow selfishness, you will reap loneliness.
If you sow pride, you will reap destruction.
If you sow jealousy, you will reap problems.
If you sow laziness, you will reap stagnation.
If you sow bitterness, you will reap isolation.
If you sow greed, you will reap you will reap loss.
If you sow gossip, you will reap enemies.
If you sow worries, you will reap wrinkles.
If you sow sin, you will reap wrinkles.
If you sow sin, you will reap guilt. (IMPACT)
If you sow for meat, you will reap corruption
(Source: http://keyisinspiration.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/quote-of-the-day/)
I propose that you not only reap what you sow, YOU WILL REAP MORE THAN YOU SOW! – Take for example a farmer who plants a grain of corn. That kernel has the potential to produce a stalk with several ears containing many kernels of corn. If the stalk produces 2 ears of corn, that would be approximately 1,600 kernels.
With that in mind… it is imperative that we sow the RIGHT SEEDS! I would like to look at these verses tonight and preach on this thought “You will reap what you sow! Let’s start by looking at:
I. The Harvest – v7 Make no mistake; God cannot be mocked: for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
We begin with an important warning… When you live as if your rebellion against God is inconsequential, you are acting very foolishly. He says that God’s justice cannot be mocked. No one will ever disobey God’s commandments and escape divine punishment
He goes on to say “for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” “The harvest must be the focus of your mind from the beginning.
Take the local farmer for example: Before the soil is prepared… Before the seed is planted… Before the fields are worked. .. he has in mind what he needs to harvest. At a certain time of the year he prepares for a corn harvest. At another time of the year, he prepares for a soybean harvest. He sows what he needs and reaps what he plants.
Friends, we must have our eyes on the harvest. You’ve heard of those people who “spend their time sowing their wild oats and then pray for the crop to fail” – Dude, it doesn’t work that way!
One of my favorite movies is “Secondhand Lions” with Robert Duvall and Michael Cain. They were two men who had lived lives of danger and adventure. They reached a certain age so they decided to settle down and do “what old retirees do”. So they planted a garden. They had 12 to 16 rows planted and were expecting green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, lettuce and more. They worked in that garden for weeks and one day they noticed that every row was corn. The street vendor threw one at them!
Friend, if you plant corn you will not get watermelon… YOU WILL GET CORN!! And if you sow seeds of evil, you will not reap good! If you sow seeds of the flesh you will not reap the fruits of the Spirit! ——– Let’s go a little further and see:
II. The Seed v8
A. The Flesh – v8a For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption;
Here’s that word again…meat! Our old sinful nature. The flesh is the natural part of us that wants to live life on our own terms. Although the believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the flesh still fights. When we sow for the flesh we are giving in to their sinful desires. We are failing to “walk in the Spirit” and instead we are following the lists of the flesh.
John R. Stott has written: “Any time we allow our minds to hold a grudge, to nurse a grievance, to harbor an impure fantasy, to wallow in self-pity, we are sowing for the flesh. Every time we linger in bad company whose insidious influence we know we cannot resist, every time we lie in bed when we should be up and praying, every time we read pornographic literature, every time we take a risk that tests our self-control we are sowing, sowing, sowing, for meat” .
We are told that “when we sow to the flesh, we will reap corruption.” – Corruption speaks of decadence, ruin and destruction. Over time, rebellion against God destroys a person, just as a deadly disease slowly takes a life. Are you sowing seeds of the flesh? Maybe you just need to be saved and for Jesus to take full control of your life. Or maybe you would say “I know I am a saved preacher, but if I am honest I have sown some seeds of corruption” you need to come back to the Lord today and get a new bag of seeds!
As I mentioned earlier, this whole sowing and reaping thing is not all bad. There is also a positive side. There is another seed that can be sown, it is the seed of:
B. The Spirit – v8b but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Sowing to the Spirit means doing things that please the Lord. When we do this, the influence of the Spirit in your life will continually increase. Just put. sowing to the Spirit means letting the Holy Spirit have His way. (Notice what John Macarthur says in his NT Commentary on Galatians)
“Sow to the Spirit” is the same as “walk by the Spirit” (5:16)
“Sow to the Spirit” is the same as “being led by the Spirit” (5:18)
“Sow to the Spirit” is the same as being “filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18).
“Sow to the Spirit” is the same as “remain in Christ” (John 15:7)
“Sowing to the Spirit” is the same as “abiding in the Word of Christ” (John 8:31).
“Sowing to the Spirit” is the same as “walking in Christ” (Col. 2:6)
“Sow to the Spirit” is the same as “set your mind on things above, not on things on earth” (Col3:2).
 ; “Sowing to the Spirit” is the same as “giving one’s body as a ‘living and holy sacrifice, pleasing to God,’ and not being ‘conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the will of God: that which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Rom. 12:1–2).”
We are told that when we sow to the Spirit we will reap eternal life. Eternal life speaks of eternity. Please note that our eternal life does not begin after death, but rather begins with salvation. By sowing the seeds of the Spirit we will also improve the quality of our life here and now. Another great benefit of sowing to the Spirit is that it will impact the Kingdom of Christ. Consider:
Many years ago, ill health forced the two missionaries stationed in Efulan to return to America, leaving only six believers, because the station had only been open for a short time. They dared not expect to find Christians when they returned two years later, for how could six recent converts be alone in an African village? However, they discovered that the small group had met several times a week for prayer and Bible study and had so faithfully testified of Christ that all the neighboring towns knew they were “men of Jesus.” So is it any wonder that the church grew into a huge congregation and that, on the 25th anniversary of its organization, 7,000 people gathered for a communion service in which three African ministers celebrated the sacrament: bread and wine ? distributed by 24 native elders?
We have examined the harvest, and the seeds now let’s see a little about:
III. The Worker v9
It refers to the one who is sowing the seeds. Specifically the seeds of the Spirit. The Worker Must Persevere – v9 And let us not get tired of doing good, because in due time we will reap, if we do not lose heart.
If you continue to sow for the Spirit there will be a final reward. There are times when work is difficult! There are times when we get tired! There are times when we want to quit smoking! But we must follow the directive given in 1 Corinthians 15:58 “be constant and constant, increasing in the work of the Lord always, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain”
This is no guarantee that you will have everything you want in this life. It is not a promise of material possessions.- Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19 ¶Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal:
You may never get any recognition down here. It is not a guarantee that you will not face danger, problems or trials.
*Paul was faithful in his work for the Lord and was beheaded
*Peter was faithful in his work for the Lord and was crucified upside down
*James was faithful in his work for the Lord and was beheaded
*John the Baptist was faithful in his work for the Lord and was beheaded
*John the Apostle was faithful in his work for the Lord and was banished to the island of Patmos.
*The rest of the Apostles were faithful in their work and as a result they all died.
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