You Reap what you Sow
Ill. Late one summer evening in Broken Bow, Nebraska, a weary truck driver pulled his rig into an all-night truck stop. The waitress had just served him when three tough looking, leather jacketed motorcyclists - of the Hell’s Angels type - decided to give him a hard time. Not only did they verbally abuse him, one grabbed the hamburger off his plate, another took a handful of his french fries, and the third picked up his coffee and began to drink it. How would you respond? Well, this trucker did not respond as one might expect. Instead, he calmly rose, picked up his check, walked to the front of the room, put the check and his money on the cash register, and went out the door. The waitress followed him to put the money in the till and stood watching out the door as the big truck drove away into the night.
When she returned, one of the bikers said to her, "Well, he’s not much of a man, is he?" She replied, "I don’t know about that, but he sure ain’t much of a truck driver. He just ran over three motorcycles on his way out of the parking lot." (Sermon Central ill.)
Even the secular world recognizes the truth of Reaping and Sowing, but since they don't want to give glory to God, they rename it “karma”. But the biblical doctrine of reaping and sowing isn't just a law of the Bible it's a law of nature. You put a seed in the ground, and over time it grows. What makes the Hindu belief of 'karma' different than the truthful doctrine of reaping and sowing is that we may not see our harvest until we leave this world.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. 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, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” -Galatians 6:7,8
You could do a three month series on reaping and sowing. But I want to focus on the difference between two specific things that are contrary to each other, that we reap when we sow them: First, Judgment & condemnation and second charity & forgiveness. But before we get into that it's important to know that:
I. YOU WILL GROW WHATEVER YOU SOW
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
You will reap a harvest of whatever you sow. If you sow a peach seed you will harvest peaches. If you sow an apple seed you will reap a harvest apples. If you sow evil you will reap evil. If you sow good you will reap good. You will grow whatever it is that you sow. You will get the fruit of what you plant.
Charles Reade said, “You sow a thought and you reap a deed. You sow a deed and you reap a habit. You sow a habit and you reap a character. You sow a character and you reap a destiny.”
There will be lot of people who will excuse themselves from being doers of the word and not hearers only, even though they make a big show of religion. They may deceive others, and even themselves if they think they can deceive God, who knows their hearts and their actions; and since He cannot be deceived, He certainly will not be mocked.
Today is the day to sow seed. The present time is seed sowing time. We might not have but a vapor of time left here on this earth, but the time we have is meant for us to sow seed. After all, here on earth and the present time is the only place and time we need faith. Faith isn't needed in Heaven or in Hell. Sinners are feeling what they would not believe on earth and saints are enjoying what they did believe on earth. In the next life there will be a great harvest, and we will reap then what we sow now. Jesus said: “but store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Ill. A girl had a nice little piggy bank. Her father wanted to teach her about saving, so he talked to her about putting her money into a savings account at their bank. He very carefully explained to her that when she put money into her account, the bank would pay her interest on her money and that her money would grow that way.
The big day came. They went to the bank. She gave her piggy bank to the woman opening her account. Then she just stood there and stared at the woman. "Is there something else I can do for you?" the woman asked.
The little girl answered, "No, I’m just waiting on my interest!"
The girl didn’t understand that there was a delay between sowing her money in that account and reaping the harvest of her interest. That’s the way it is in life. Since that is the case, you need to understand a couple of very important facts about today:
1. The things happening in your life today are the results of what you have sown in the past. You are reaping the harvest of what you sowed a week ago, a month ago, a year ago.
2. What will happen in the future will be determined by what you sow into your life today. If you want to change your future, then you need to change what you are sowing today. (Sermon central ill)
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly, will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” -2 Cor. 9:6
What you reap is in direct proportion to what you sow. If you sow one seed you can't expect to grow ten trees. You may have multiple fruit but not multiple trees. If you sow a little you will reap a little. If you sow a lot you will reap a lot. If you sow nothing, you will reap nothing.
Transition: If you sow a little evil you reap a little evil, if you sow a lot of evil you will reap a lot of evil. Let's look at what you reap when you sow to the sinful nature:
II. YOU WILL REAP A HARVEST OF DESTRUCTION
“The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction”
Those who live a carnal sensual life, instead of devoting themselves to the honor of God and the good of others, must not expect any other fruit than corruption and destruction. They live only for a temporary short lived satisfaction of the present, and they will reap the ruin and misery at the end of it. Paul warns the Corinthians “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” I Cor. 6:9, 10 Those who only sow to their flesh on earth can't expect to reap a spiritual prize in heaven. And along with those who can not sow to the flesh are those who sow judgmental-ism, self-righteousness, etc.
“The Pharisee is always present in each one of us.” - Leenhardt
If you sow judgment you will reap judgment
Luke 6:41,42 – “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”
This refers to those who aren't graceful themselves but are quick to find disgrace in others. They seem to be unaware of their own faults but have no problem finding faults in others.
Its absurd for anyone to pretend to be so wise as to see the smallest faults in others, like a speck or a mote, when their own heart is so perfectly hardened and so past feeling that they themselves can not perceive that there is something as large as a beam in their own eye. The heart is the tree and the words and actions are the fruit. The Bible says that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” and it reiterates that “by their fruit you may know them” You know them by what they say and how they say it and by what they do and how they do it. You can stick figs on thorns or drape grapes on briers but they can never be the natural fruit of those trees – You can't expect any good from those who have a bad character.
Those who won't rebuke themselves aren't fit to rebuke others.
Two points.
1. To see a speck you must be searching for it, they feel that they must find some fault, either real or contrived. “These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.” -Jude 1:16 Notice they are not called falut-seekers. They are called 'Faultfinders'. You might call them “speck finders” searching high and low, back and forth, around every nook and cranny, using a magnifying glass if necessary, to find the smallest fault in the smallest places of someone else. But notice, that they must be seeking fault in order to find it. Which tells us something about their own character. They are wicked. They murmur against God and his providence, against men and their conduct; they are angry at every thing that happens, and they are never pleased with their own condition in the world, no matter how good they have it; it's not good enough for them. Their only rule is to walk after their own lusts; after their own will, and after their own appetites.
2. It's hard enough to see a speck in someone's eye, but what adds to this absurdity is that those who show such indignation about a tiny speck, have a huge plank in their own eye. And if they know it, they certainly don't complain of it. And if they do, it isn't much, just enough to give themselves some cover to complain of others. The hypocrisy is what is striking. It would be like Judas rebuking Peter for betraying Christ. Reforming others is a good work, but we must qualify our work by being a righteous example. Be perfect if you want to point out the imperfection of others. Remember our goal is to win people to the kingdom of God, not to shut the kingdom of God in people's faces. We can tell the truth about condemnation without being condemning. We can tell the truth about judgment without being judgmental. What spirit do we have when we talk about these truths? Is it a spirit of judgment or a spirit of compassion, is it a spirit of self-righteousness or a spirit of love? Is it from a perspective of superiority or from a perspective of hope for them to join you in building the kingdom of God. I would guess that you will have a greater effect if you have the spirit of love and compassion than if you have the spirit of judgment and condemnation.
“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” -Matthew 7:2
You will reap what you sow. If you sow judgment of others you will reap judgment for yourself. Hopefully during this life, because I would hate to reap judgment afterward.
Transition: If you sow condemnation you will reap it and if you sow judgment you will reap it. But the opposite side is also true. If you sow to please the spirit:
III. YOU WILL REAP A HARVEST OF ETERNAL LIFE
“the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
Ill. In a country where getting and having more seems so normal, people who choose to live with a lot less so they can help others seem, to put it mildly, less than sane. Zell Kravinsky is one of those people.
Kravinsky got rich in the real estate business, and then gave away just about all of his fortune -- $45 million -- to charity. "A lot of people seem to feel I’m crazy," he said. Or could it be that he’s just generous?!
Ill. Here’s another story. Karen Pittelman also gave away her fortune to help others. She created the Chahara Foundation to help low-income women and girls with her $3 million trust fund.
At first, she said, it was difficult for her family to understand her decision. "It was hard for them because they put that money aside for my security. They did out of love, and so I think it was hard for them to understand why I wouldn’t want it," she said. Pittelman’s explanation was surprisingly simple: "I didn’t need that much," she told "20/20."
"I would never judge or say how much any one person needs. But I knew for myself, in my life, that I didn’t need this $3 million," she said. So, she gave her money to groups that help low-income workers and the disenfranchised, particularly women. (Sermon Central Ill.)
I don't know where they were with Christ, but I believe, if they were not saved, there only hope is to receive a lesser portion of pain in hell. But if they did know Christ and were saved, then they will reap treasure in Heaven. Generosity is good, but it is perfect when it is in the name of Jesus.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” -Luke 6:37, 38
Notice that both mercy and grace are found in these two verses. Mercy is not getting what we do deserve and Grace is getting what we don't deserve.
We experience mercy from God when we show mercy to others. When we sow mercy by not judging or condemning others, even if they deserve it, we will reap mercy from God.
We also experience grace from God when we show grace to others. - “Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned.” When we sow grace by forgiving others, we are giving them something that they don't deserve, and we will reap a harvest of the forgiveness from God. When we give to others it will be given back to us. - “Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you.” We say “God forgive me of my sins against you as I forgive those who sin against me.”
It's amazing one seed of forgiveness can grow so much fruit. Sowing one seed of charity can reap so much good. Imagine sowing so many of them constantly, you can't keep count of them. That is what God wants us to do.
Jesus told us to pray: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.” Notice we ask for ourselves in proportion to what we give to others. We ask God to forgive us our wrongs even if we don't deserve it just as we forgave our brother his wrongs even though he may not deserve it.
In the same way, when we sow the grace of giving to others, we will reap a harvest of gifts from God! If you sow charity you will reap charity. If you don't reap charity on earth then you definitely will reap it in Heaven.
Conclusion: What we sow is what we reap. It is up to us to sow good seed in the short time that we have. Do what you can with what you've been given, and do it well. But If you sow judgment or condemnation, you will reap hell for it. If you sow charity and forgiveness you will reap blessing for it, either on earth or in heaven. If you sow nothing you will reap nothing.
