Sermon Central
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#1: We Reap Much We Did Not Sow Series
Contributed by Archie Luper on Nov 28, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: Ever hear of something called “jogging in a jug”? “Jogging in a Jug” is a concoction of 4 parts grape juice, 4 parts apple juice, and 1 part apple cider vinegar. Yum, yum! It’s a folk remedy; a kind of “Drano” for your arteries.
Exodus 34:6-7 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 "keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation."
B. Reaping the Sin of the world
Matthew 4:7-9; Matthew 16:25-27; I John 2:14-16
A fly was buzzing along one morning when he saw a lawn mower someone had left out in their front yard. He flew over and sat on the handle, watching the children going down the sidewalk on their way to school. One little boy tripped on a crack and fell, spilling his lunch on the sidewalk. He picked himself up, put his lunch back in the bag and went on. But he missed a piece of bologna. The fly had not eaten that morning and he sure was hungry. So he flew down and started eating the bologna. In fact he ate so much that he could not fly, so he waddled across the sidewalk, across the lawn, up the wheel of the lawn mower, up the handle, and sat there resting and watching the children. There was still some bologna laying there on the sidewalk.
He was really stuffed, but that baloney sure did look good. Finally temptation got the best of him and he jumped off the handle of the lawn mower to fly over to the baloney. But alas he was too full to fly and he went splat!!, killing him instantly. The moral of the story: Don’t fly off the handle when you are full of baloney.
There’s a dark side to us, that’s as reckless as the fly. It does not matter what the costs are, you just got to have it. Humanity is like that, so full of baloney, they can’t see it and they fly off the handle, thinking they can handle it all, and be satisfied only to end up splat.
III. Application: Sow what is Good
Yes, we all reap much we did not sow. But that is not all we must take away from this first law of the harvest. In this law a 3-Dimensional call is extended.
A Call to Do Good
We need to being doing good while we can. "Do we realize the far-reaching implications of our choices on the lives of others—children, family members, co-workers, friends?" (J. Hampton Keathley III)
Matthew 5:44-45; Galatians 6:10; 1 Timothy 6:18-19; James 4:17
B. A Call To Love
Matthew 5:43-48
Through loving others we plant the seeds of love to be harvested in another person’s life. We need to live as though love were the greatest, for it is.
C. A Call to Wisdom
The scriptures tell us that wisdom calls aloud outside in the streets for man to pursue her. (Ecclesiastes 1:20-21)
James 1:5; Ephesians 5:15-18; Psalms 90:12; Deuteronomy 6:10-12
Conclusion
This first law of the harvest sets us on our journey to a great harvest. But the key is to begin to sow today for tomorrow knowing it will make a difference in the lives coming behind us.
"The Only Preparation for Tomorrow is the Right Use of Today"
Charlie Brown is seen at bat. "STRIKE THREE!" He has struck out again and slumps down on the players’ bench. He say, "Rats! I’ll never be a big league player. I just don’t have it! All my life I’ve dreamed of playing in the big leagues, but I know I’ll never make it." Lucy turns to console him. "Charlie Brown, you’re thinking too far ahead. What you need to do is set yourself more immediate goals." Charlie Brown looks up and asks, "Immediate goals?" Lucy responds, "Yes. Start with this next inning when you go out to pitch. See if you can walk out to the mound without falling down."
