Law of a harvest
Galatians 6:1-10
Introduction-
Today we celebrate July 4th. To some it is only a day of picnics and a day off, but for some it was a great sacrifice of wanting to see change. It is a group of people that said enough is enough. We will break away from England and gain our independence, and put more dependence on God. There is a law of the harvest. It is simple- what you sow you will reap. You plant apples, you expect apples. You won’t get pears. That same principal is for all areas of our life including the spiritual. You plant nothing, what will you get? Nothing. You plant cucumbers, you can’t expect beautiful flowers. The seed bears the fruit of what you planted. Society today is always trying to take short-cuts. Don’t believe me? People play the lottery because it is a way (they believe) to get something for little or nothing. Not to work hard, but reap a big harvest. People look at others that have things and are jealous of them. They do not want to put the time, effort, money it took for them to get what they have. They don’t want to make any sacrifice for it. We want what our grandparents have worked hard for and we want it now without the 40 years it took to get it. Paul addresses the concept of sowing and reaping in our lives both how we should react to others and what we can expect in our own lives.
Galatians 6:1-10 Paul understand society and people. The word for sin Paul uses here is the Greek word Paraptoma- not deliberate sin, but a slip up. (Like slipping on a icy road) He goes unto say that Christians trying to live a life for Christ can if they are not careful are apt to judge others more harshly. Paul says it is the duty of Christians to get people back on their feet after a slip up. The word for correct is to repair like a surgeon. Then he goes into telling us a recipe so that it won’t happen to us and can be avoided. He then brings some strong words to the believers in (v7). “Don’t be deceived; God is not mocked.” Don’t deceive yourselves- don’t think that God doesn’t know what is going on. A person is going to reap what He/She sows. If we sow to the world- reap destruction. If we sow to the spirit- eternal life. But then he gives us some words of encouragement. I believe these are words of comfort for the church and for us individually. “Let us not 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.” The principal here has been around forever. Jesus taught the parables of the farmers. Hosea the prophet taught - “If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind” Hosea 8:7. I don’t know who wrote it- “When you play with fire, you are going to get burned” Catch phrases that tell us the law of process. “For every action there is a reaction.” Paul says, you cannot deceive God. God knows what kind of seed you are sowing, and whatever seed you sow, that is the kind of seed you will reap when harvest day comes. One of the questions asked most to me as a pastor is why does bad things happen to good people? I try to answer it this way. There is sin in the world. Until Jesus returns there will be sin in the world. The word tells us that blessings rain on the just and the unjust. Meaning- blessings and problems happen to everyone. All walks of life. Believers and unbelievers. There are consequences for our actions, and consequences of other people’s actions. You are a serious drinker and you destroy your liver, it is a consequence of your actions. Someone gets behind the wheel of a vehicle drunk and innocent lives are affected. You smoke 3 packs of cigarettes a day, develop cancer of the lungs, it is a consequence of your actions. You are raised in a house of a smoker and you breath in second hand smoke, innocent people are affected. God can forgive you, you have a choice of quitting or stopping anytime, but what you sow, you will reap. It is the law of the harvest. Let’s look at a few things we can learn from apostle Paul this morning.
I. Each one of us is sowing seeds.
You and I are planting seeds everyday. Each one of us have several fields that we harvest. Each one of us one day will bring our harvest in from the field. Example of fields
Family, friends, work, workplace, seed of helping/ doing for others, church and community. Seed with our relationship with God. I am not a farmer, I am a city boy. But I do know that if you plant something that you want to see results. You have a harvest in mind. I sow to my family- I want to see a return. I sow to people in the church, I want to see growth, I want to see fruit. Here is the problem if you are not careful. You throw your seed just for fun. I love being outdoors (Johnny Appleseed) I love the beautiful things of nature. You throw seed without a thought about a harvest. Before you know it, time and life has gotten away from you. You realize that it is time to pull the weeds of your fields but it is overwhelming. Sometimes we begin to reap what we have sown and we don’t like it. Sometimes we look at other people’s fields and we begin to blame God because we don’t have that field. “Be not deceived- God is not mocked”
II. You will reap what you sow.
Bank on it “ The Lord extends his blessing to all men as he makes his sun to rise on th evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust Mt. 5:45 Today is the day of grace- as long as you have breath, it is by grace. But we have looked at it as we can do whatever we want. (Just like people did not understand independence day and the revolution war that took place so we can have freedom to worship God as we want.) We cling to 1 John 1:9- “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” while we are not under the law anymore, One day the harvest you’ve sown will bear that fruit. There are two kinds of harvest. The harvest of Now and Forever. We can throw frivolous seeds and have fun now, and not worry about a harvest. We can throw seeds for all eternity and reap exactly what we intended to plant. One is instant gratification and one has eternal value. One, you can enjoy right now, and one you will have to wait and enjoy later. The definition of holiness to the world is being perfect. Living holier than those around you. It is comparing ourselves to each other instead of measuring holiness against a holy God. Once we measure holiness against God, we see that all fall short of the Glory of God. Holiness is not perfection. How many things that you don’t do anymore. It is being Holy His Giving everything you have to Him. I shared at Bible study on Wednesday night of an experience I had with the Lord. No matter what anyone says, they cannot take that experience away from me. I know that it is true. The conscience presence of God. I know the presence of God. I know what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. I know what it is to have God guide my life. Because of that experience, I choose, to plant seed that will have eternal value. Eternity is more important than the now. I would rather pick weeds daily than have my field overcome by weeds and then I become overwhelmed because I cannot handle them.
Let’s review
1. Each one of us is planting seeds, somewhere, somehow. Good or bad seeds, we are planting everyday.
2. We will all reap what we sow. That is a fact Jack. God is not mocked. Be not deceived into thinking that God doesn’t now what is going on.
III. Harvest fields are reaped in season.
“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” Paul thought it necessary to have us check our lives, look where we are planting our seed, where we are spending our time, money, and talents. But also thought it necessary to comfort those that are diligently working the fields everyday. Just like the person who puts the seed in the ground, waters it, and the next day pulls it out of the ground expecting fruit. We sometimes get in a hurry to force God for a harvest. He speaks about a harvest at the proper time-why? Because sometimes the harvest doesn’t come when we think it should, or when we expect it. Harvest can take months, maybe years. Sometimes the harvest we do not get to see. Sometimes the fruit comes when someone else is in the field. “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow” 1 Cor. 3:6-7
I’m closing:
God has given each one of us a moral compass. We know what we spend our time on, we know what is a priority and what is not. We know where we are spiritually. We know where we are casting our seed. For some this morning, He may be telling us we need to take the warning and start working the fields, get the weeds out. For others, he may be saying, I know you are not seeing the fruit of your labor. I assure you I am working I see how hard you are working your field. He says don’t give up. On yourself or others. “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers”
Altar Call
