Do Not Be Deceived - God Is Not Mocked Part 1 Series

Do Not Be Deceived – God Is Not Mocked Part 1

Scripture: Matthew 13:18-23; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

Introduction

This message if the first of my new series titled “Do Not Be Deceived – God Is Not Mocked.” This morning I will focus primarily on the seeds that are being planted within us and what we are doing with them. Once we have a good understanding of the seeds being sown within and through us, I will transition to the main part of the series that focuses on the truth that God will not be mocked in what He has said.

Now let me give you one example of when we generally think of sowing seeds. Last week one of the members shared with me that on last Sunday the Spirit of God told them to give a sacrificial offering to the building fund. They struggled at first, but then wrote the check. On Monday when they checked their mail, they had received in the mail two checks totaling $800 when they were only expecting about $200. Yes, our God is a great God. When I heard the testimony, I reflected on the Scripture from 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 which states: “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each person must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” When we read this Scripture, we love it because it speaks of us receiving financially from the Lord if we give. But this Scripture ties in with a law that God has in place that based on what seeds you are sowing, you will reap either positive and negative fruit. Notice I say that you will reap – this is a guarantee – you will reap based on what you sow. When you read what Paul says in verse seven, he says “Each person must do just as he has purposed in his heart….” Focus on that sentence – “each must do as he has purposed in his heart.” Once again we see that it starts with the heart. Jesus spent a lot time teaching on what is on the inside of man. When we make decisions to act, in any different situation, most of those decisions are based on what is in our hearts. Understand, when we sow seeds, we can only sow the seeds from what is in our hearts. Remember several weeks ago when I told you about the 75% Rodney? Consider some of the seeds that I sowed when I was 95% Rodney. Doesn’t that give you a chill?

In my previous two messages, I shared with you our need to “stand in the gap” for others, both physically and spiritually. In the last part of the message, I told you about standing in the gap for someone that you did not like or someone who did not like you. Standing in the gap for them tends to be harder than standing in for a family member or friend. In that message I also talked about how we must stand for others even when we ourselves are going through a difficult time. So, you may be wondering how the message on standing in the gap ties in with this message “Do Not Be Deceived – God Is Not Mocked” and how it ties in with what we will be discussing in Bible study. Let me tell you: everything that we do causes a reaction either in the natural or in the spiritual realm. These reactions are tied to a principle that God has in place on sowing and reaping. Although we tend to think about this more as it relates to financial blessings, it is important to realize that it affects everything that we do in life. In this introductory message, I will be focusing on one area, our relationship and interaction with others. My desire is to motivate you to pull through our current standing in the gap prayer initiative (each family member praying for someone else) and prepare you for what is upcoming in our Church body.

I. You Have Access To The Seed

Let me start by assuring you that seeds are being sown in your life and you are actually sowing seeds on a daily basis. Consider the person who plants a garden. My wife has a garden in our backyard. She plants tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables that are healthy for the body. I do very little in assisting her with the tending of the garden. If she were growing candy, cakes and other junk food, I’d be all over it, but she is growing healthy food. Every year she goes to the store and buys the different seeds or small plants of the vegetables she will place in her garden. When she returns home for the store, she opens the seeds (or small plants), plants them in the ground, waters them, keep the animals away until they begin to grow and produce her fruit. When the fruit is read, then she receives her harvest. Now I do not plant the seeds and seldom do I water the garden. I did little to keep the animals away after I put the fence up around the plants. Although I did little in planting and keeping up the garden, when she receives her harvest, I am there being blessed by what she has grown. Think about that fact for a moment. She did almost all of the work and yet I am being blessed through her efforts. Although this seems unfair, in reality this is what we are supposed to be doing as Christians – this is how we sow good seeds and also how we stand in the gap for others. Other people should be receiving their blessings through our work for Christ. Turn to Matthew the 13th chapter and look down at verse 23. “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.”