Fall: Reaping What You Have Sown Series

Spiritual Rhythm

Fall: Reaping what You have Sown

Galatians 6:7-10

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

Fall is a glorious time of bringing in the harvest that we had worked so hard for during the other seasons of our lives. “It is a time of thanksgiving, a time to acknowledge God as provider: rainmaker, sun-keeper, storm-quencher” (150). It is a time to praise and deepen our faithfulness to God in whom we are utterly dependent. And yet while fall is meant to be a time of great rejoicing it is also one in which the “heart fills up with anticipation” (152) and dare I say anxiety, for the Lord has promised we will reap what we have sown! Let’s look at Galatians 6:7-10 to get a better understanding of the connection between reaping and sowing.

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Apostle Paul makes it clear that we simply cannot fool God by putting on a “holy mask” while wearing worldly clothing! Having one foot in God’s and Satan’s kingdom is not possible for in living to please one’s flesh, i.e., the sinful nature, one cannot please the Holy Spirit. Giving into the cravings of one’s sinful desires only intensifies such cravings until one’s whole life is consumed with “ME,” my wants, my goals, and my desires. The good news is that since “greater is He who is in you than in the world” (1 John 4:4), to sow righteousness is not only possible but easily attainable by listening and obeying the Spirit who “not only prompts us to be holy as God is holy” (1 Peter 1:16), but also enables us to reject the sin that so easily entangled us (Hebrews 12:1)! Through the Spirit’s power we can take captive every word, thought, and deed for the Lord (2 Corinthians 10:5)!

Those who surrender their time, talents, money and very lives to He who purchased them at the price of His life (1 Corinthians 6:20) will plant seeds of righteousness and have of crops 100-fold (Matthew 13:8).

There are three spiritual harvests that we are to strive to obtain: a harvest of souls, a harvest of prosperity, and a harvest of righteousness.

Harvests of the Fall

The first harvest that believers are to strive to attain is to gather in the lost. We are told in Matthew that when Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He then told His disciples, “the harvest is plentiful but the workers few” (Matthew 9:36-37). The assumption in this passage is that someone else has already planted the seeds and now the Lord needs someone to water and bring them in (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)! If we are to perform our part in soul harvesting, then we must not only be ready (1 Peter 3:15) but also willing to witness to the lost the glorious message that the thirst of the eternity that God has placed in their hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11) will only be satisfied the moment they believe in the atoning sacrifice of the Son (John 3:16)! Jesus also told the disciples that we are to pray that God would send workers willing to join Him in His kingdom work. Prayer is critical “for it commits us at a heart level what we endorse at a head level” (163). It often makes us see that the ripe fields without any workers a problem that God is calling us to solve through standing up and saying, “here I am, take me.” While the Holy Spirit is the only one who can convert a person from death to life, we are still called to be the hands and feet of our Savior. The Lord wants us to sometimes sow, and other times reap, and to always be glad that we have been called to serve in His harvest that has eternal consequences!

The second harvest that believers are to strive to attain is that of prosperity. To the church of Corinth Paul wrote, “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6). Paul in this passage is not promoting health and wealth gospel that says give more and God will multiple it a 100-fold and you can become rich and always be healthy (164). We should never see God as a genie in the bottle waiting to do our bidding! When Paul says we will reap generously we must understand what rewards God will give us for doing His pleasing and perfect will. While God promises to supply us with our basic needs for survival (Matthew 6:25-27), as a Good Father, He will not give us the stones (Matthew 7:9-11) of carnal pleasure but instead a harvest of grace, good works, and righteousness (164)! Think about it, which is better to receive “treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy” (Matthew 6:19) or eternal crowns of righteousness? I am not saying that God does not bless us materially as well as spiritually but merely that His preference is to give us gifts that have eternal, rather than temporal consequences. After all, if God is to fulfill His promise to do good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28), then why give more temporal things that often ensnare people in covetousness when what believers truly need is follow in the footprint of their Savior! When God gives material things it is to be good stewards and share with the poor. Paul is saying to not be stingy with our wealth, time, and spiritual giftings but instead to give generously as if giving to the Lord Himself (Ephesians 6:7-9). Look for opportunities to serve and fill your life with good deeds that point to God the Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16) so that your life might be a living, an honorable sacrifice unto the Lord filled with crowns that never fade or spoil!