An old farmer was driving home from his annual trip to the city when he saw a couple of blonde tree farmers planting their crop by hand. As he had some extra time on his hands he stopped to watch, but couldn’t believe his eyes as they dug holes and filled them back in without dropping any seeds or seedlings.
Finally his curiosity got the best of him and so he got out of his car to walk over and talk to them.
"What are you guys doing? he asked.
"Planting trees," they said in unison.
"But where is the seed or the seedling?"
"Oh," one said, "normally there are three of us. He digs the holes, Jimmy plants the seedling, and I fill the hole. But Jimmy is out sick today."
Last week we started a series called the "Garden Variety Series. Time after time in the scriptures it uses the analogy of sowing, planting, reaping and harvesting. In those scriptures are some valuable lessons. Last week we looked at a parable that Jesus told that is called the "Parable of the Sower." Jesus gave examples of four different soils, and each one represented someone’s heart and how receptive they were to God’s Word, which Jesus called the seed. The first soil that Jesus talked about were people who had a hard heart and a shut mind for God’s Word. The second soil were people who seemed to listen to God’s Word and took encouragement from it, but never put down roots for endurance. With that soil Jesus said that they believed for a while but when the tests of life came they fell away because they had no real roots. Then the third soil was the person who heard God’s Word but allowed the busyness and the worries of life to choke the things of God out. These people were so caught up in riches and wanting more, and the worries of everyday life that it literally just choked the things of God right out of them. Then the last soil was the people who received God’s Word and put it into action, laying down roots that last. These people not only heard the Word with joy, they put it into action and established roots deep enough that when the storms of life came they not only survived, but they grew deeper and more mature in their faith. Hopefully that last soil is the one that describes the condition of your heart. Today we will continue to look at sowing, but this time you are the sower or the planter. The scriptures gives us a great lesson in planting.
Galatians 6:7-10
Now one of the most important lessons that the scriptures gives us in planting here is simply this: You cannot fool God about what you are sowing. In verse 7 the first sentence, Paul says very plainly, "Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked." Now there are different ways that we can be deceived and one of them is to fool ourselves. Sometimes we convince ourselves that something is true when it is not. What we need to understand is this, we cannot make a mockery of God with an act. Now the Greek word that "mocked" is translated from means "to turn up the nose at, sneer at, treat with contempt" and it is used in a passive sense. We can fool people and make them think that we are planting one kind of seed when in reality we are planting something totally different, but you are not going to be able to pull the wool over God’s eyes. You are not going to be able to turn your nose up at God with an act. Back when the early church had started it was an incredible time in the life of the church. The scriptures said that the believers were of one heart and mind. Wouldn’t be awesome for the church to be of one heart and mind today. What we couldn’t accomplish if that were the case. It also said that no one claimed any possessions were their own but that they shared everything they had. Matter of fact people in the church were selling their property and homes and giving all the money to the church so that everyone could be taken care of. But there was one couple named Annanias and Sapphira, they sold a piece of property that they owned as well, but they kept back part of the money themselves. The scriptures said that the wife had full knowledge that part of the money was held back, so they both knew what they were doing. The problem came in that they wanted others to think that they gave every bit of the money from the sell. I think they wanted to appear as spiritual as everyone else. It just might have worked, but God was not going to be mocked, and I believe the Holy Spirit revealed to Peter what was going on. Listen to what Peter said in Acts 5:3 "Then Peter said, ‘Annanias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God." Of course if you remember Annanias drops dead on the spot. But the point is that Annanias and his wife tried to make people think they were more spiritual than they were, they tried to give the impression of sowing one thing when really they were sowing another. Peter said they lied to the Holy Spirit and they lied to God. They might have been able to fool people but they were not going to be able to fool God. Remember when Achan went against the directions of God and took some of the devoted things from Jericho in their battle there. None of his fellow soldiers knew what he did, but God wasn’t mocked, he knew what was going on. God cannot be fooled because God is not like people. He can discern the very thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. We can make people think we have their best interest in mind and we are doing thinks for the right motive but God sees into our hearts and minds and He knows what is the truth. God just won’t be fooled. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can.
Now because God cannot be mocked, you need to realize this: You get what you sow. You can’t plant an orange and expect a grape. In life, the harvest that you get will be determined by what you sow in your life. This is true in so many different areas of our life. We get what we sow in our spiritual life. Starting in the second sentence of verse 7 and then verse 8 it says, "A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit will reap eternal life." Our spiritual life is determined by who we spend this life trying to please. If you are all about you and living your life for yourself and your own pleasure your spiritual life will be dead and unfulfilling. You think you are disappointed in the lack of fulfillment wait until you see the harvest of what you have sown. If you live this life sowing your wild oats in the end there will be a price to pay. Now many people have sowed wild oats and when they began to see the harvest that they were bringing in they changed what they were sowing. Some people keep sowing to please their sinful nature, it’s all about what feels good. Paul makes it clear that their harvest will be destruction. But if you sow your seed to please the Spirit of God, what a harvest you have waiting for you. Not only do you have the harvest that is spending eternity in the presence of God, but you have the lives that you have impacted because you have allowed the Spirit of God to guide and direct your life. Your life has been spent planting seeds where the Spirit directs. If you truly sow to please the Spirit I promise you, you won’t be disappointed in the harvest when it comes in.
You also get what you sow in relationships. You can live your life keeping to yourself and afraid that if you really invest yourself into other peoples lives that you will get hurt, or you can risk it and sow some real friendships through the people that the Spirit puts in your life. If you pour yourselves into other people and allow the Spirit to lead you in those relationships you are not going to only blossom yourself but you will help other people to grow into what God has called them to be. There is no greater harvest, there is no greater blessing than to watch someone grow who you know you have played a part in their growth. Sometimes our friendships plant the seeds and someone else comes along and helps them to grow as well. But if you want real relationships that will challenge you and change you and bring a blessing to your life, then you have to be willing to risk it and stick your hands and your heart on the line and say I’m going to start planting this seeds today that will make a difference. Solomon one time wrote about being willing to take risk. He wrote in Ecclesiastes 11:1 "Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again." Other words, be willing to take some risk and cast your bread upon the waters, reach out and form some relationships and put what you have into it, you will receive just as much back as you put out and sometimes more. Now it doesn’t mean that sometimes you won’t get hurt in the process. Almost anything worthwhile you have some risks. But when it all comes down to it, you will find some relationships that will change your life. If you don’t have relationships that are challenging you and making a difference in your life and other people’s lives you have no one to blame but yourselves, because you get what you sow.
You also get what you sow in giving. When you read more of chapter 6 and read the verses leading up to our text, you realize that part of what Paul is talking about here is sowing financially as well. Matter of fact, he makes it real clear in II Corinthians 9:6. At this point Paul was in the process of taking up an offering from the Gentile churches to give to the church at Jerusalem who was really going through a hard time. When talking to them about this offering he says, "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." If you are kind and generous with your money you really won’t be out in the end. Your kindness and generosity will be repaid. It may not be the person you help out, but you will be blessed financially when you use it and are generous helping other people. God will bless you. But when you are tight fisted and not helping other people who really need it that God has put in your path don’t expect great financial blessings. You get what you sow!
Yes, you get what you sow in your spiritual life, you get what you sow in your relationships and in your giving. If you want a life with some excitement follow the Spirit where He takes you and I promise you won’t be bored and the seeds you will be putting down will give you a harvest that you will enjoy.
The last lesson in planting is really important. Some of you out there maybe saying, "You know, I’ve been planting good seeds for a long time now and I just haven’t seen much of a harvest." Well this lesson is for you. It takes patience to experience a good return. Listen to what Paul writes in verses 9,10 of our text. "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." Paul tells us not to get tired of doing good, not to get tired of planting good seeds because if you do not give up, at the right time we will reap a great harvest. He encourages them to keep doing good to all people, especially the believers. Sometimes patience is a hard thing to have. When I was growing up our church built a new church on 33 acres and part of the land they sectioned off for people in the church who wanted to grow their own garden. My brother was one of the people who planted his own garden on the land. It had no interest to me because I kind of like things that give me instant results and gardening is not one of those things. It’s an awful lot of work to take so long to get results. It’s probably another reason that I don’t fish more than I do. It’s not that I don’t have fun fishing, it’s just you have to be patient and sometimes it can take quite a while to even get a nibble from the fish. Patience is not my greatest virtue. But that is exactly what we have to have when we are talking about a harvest, whether it’s from a field crop or whether we are dealing more in a spiritual sense. It’s easy to want to give up planting seeds when you feel like you aren’t seeing any results. When James wrote His book that is a part of scripture He was writing to Christians who had been scattered from persecution. They were living for God but instead of getting the harvest they were expecting they were being mistreated and facing really difficult challenges. But listen to what James tells them in James 5:7,8. "Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is, for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near." He tells them to be patient and then he gives the example of the farmer’s patience for the harvest and the rains that are needed that he patiently waits for. These people might not see all of the results of their harvest until the day of the Lord, but they will see results of the seeds that they have planted. We will to one day, it might be the day of the Lord before we receive the harvest, then again we may see the results of the seeds we have planted sooner than we think. But no matter when the harvest comes in, we must not give up. We must keep planting the good seed and trust God to water those seeds. We will reap a harvest if we do not give up. If you are tired today because you have been planting that seed but not really seeing any results, the message to you is simply keep doing what you are doing and the results will come one day. Don’t get tired of doing what is right and what is good.
So the lessons are very simple for planting: You can’t fool God about the kind of seeds you are planting. You get what you sow in our spiritual life, in our relationships and in our giving. It takes patience to experience a good return. Let me ask you this morning, how is your planting going? Are you sowing the right seeds?
